One of the great pleasures in looking after your grandchildren is trying to keep them entertained during the school holidays. Half term is bad enough and the long summer vacation is just around the corner.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being with them, they are such fun yet they can be tiring. There is a reason why you have children when you are younger.
The great British weather doesn’t help. The inevitable overcast and showery days make planning difficult and often lead to you paying for some indoor entertainment. There is plenty of choice, much more than when I first became a parent, and though not expensive in themselves it all adds up especially when you include food.
Paying for them to be entertained comes with a set of values. I find myself weighing the amount I have forked out with the perceived value of what is on offer. For example, the other day we took them to Tumble, a gymnastics and activity centre. Between more formal lessons they offer sessions where the children can run around, bounce on the trampolines, scale the climbing frames and generally let off steam. There is also a section for the very young with a collection of well-loved plastic toys.
In my head, the trampolines are of high value, the climbing frames of medium value and the plastic toys of no value as they can play with them anywhere. Yet my perception of value is not the same as that of the children. They don’t care about how much things cost, they just care about having fun.
It irks me when they play with the baby toys when they should be maximising the value that I have paid for. But why does it matter? They are having fun, they are being amused and that is exactly why we brought them there in the first place. I need to get over myself, stop thinking in terms of a return on my investment and just let them do their own thing.
At the end of the day they had a great time and that is all that matters.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 