I have a nephew who will be 5 in May. His father (my brother) is basically on the run for parole violations or something like that. His mother is in rehab (and doing well but not done until the fall). His grandmothers have split custody. Anyhow, this summer my dad and stepmom are getting a condo for a week at the beach. Last summer my stepsister and her boyfriend brought my nephew to the condo with them. Then my dad and stepmom were basically in charge of him. Me and my stepsister would take him for a little here or there (she has a stepson a year older than nephew, I have 2 girls a year on either side of nephew) but actual day to day stuff pretty much fell to my dad. This year I was thinking about having him be my responsibility. He could ride down with us (we have a minivan, so nbd) and then he could just 'be one of mine'. My stepsister will have a 6 month old this year so I think she will have their hands full with that and then I also have a feeling that my stepmom will be doing a lot of babysitting of the 6 month old. I can only imagine what fun my dad and stepmom would have on vacation if they are splitting their time between a 5 year old and a 6 month old. My mom says I shouldn't offer, even one more kid is a lot at the beach, and nephew wouldn't know if he was missing it anyhow. I don't really agree with these ideas but I want to make sure I'm not delusional. The kid is pretty easy though accident prone. He tends to wander (we bought a leash for him last year because he would just start walking in a different direction) but I have a double stroller and DD1 walked last year anyhow. He does fine at the actual beach, overall he tends to play better with DD2 than either of the other kids. I'm on good terms with both of his parents so I'm pretty sure getting permission wouldn't be a problem. So do I go ahead and offer to take him for the week or just wait and see if my dad arranges for him to go and offer to take him while we're there?
Re: Would you do this?
You have a really kind heart, it is so thoughtful of you to try to include your nephew in your plans. I guess I'm not sure where your mom is coming from, and her reasoning? I think having a conversation with your step sister and Dad would probably be the first step.
I have a niece that i would take on vacation with me. Its so easy ij just treat her like one of mine and its smooth sailing. Are you close with your nephew? Is he comfortable around you, etc?
I really dont think 1 extra kid will be a big deal. Expecially since he went last year and knows the deal and you have more then one adult with you.