Grandkids helping grandparents, free or paid? (babysit, teens, milk, allowance)

[Clemencia53]

Originally Posted by YorktownGal

As a good deed. Fifteen minutes is so little time - I guess it's worth $5 or less. But if you can't spare 15 minutes to a grandparent who buys you birthday/Christmas presents, I think it's sad.

what yard takes 15 minutes to mow etc.?

[E-Twist]

Originally Posted by Clemencia53

what yard takes 15 minutes to mow etc.?

I know plenty of people with little 15 minute postage stamp yards in newer developments. My sister has a regular size yard in an older development. She has landscaping that has no grass at all. I have so much yard that it takes a good five hours when the grass is dry and under control, and that's not including the pastures. Mowing is my hobby.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by Clemencia53

what yard takes 15 minutes to mow etc.?

Really? My house is on 1.29 acres, which takes me MAYBE 20 minutes TOTAL to mow, front and back (the back is the most -- about 3/4 acre).

My previous house was on a quarter acre, which would have taken MAYBE 10 minutes total to mow. Probably, really, more like 6-7 minutes.

So I guess I am confused as to why you think 15 minutes is a LOT for mowing a lawn? 15 minutes -- as in 1/4 hour?!!

Note, I do it all MYSELF mostly because I enjoy it ... but grandparents are often expected to babysit for hours and hours every week for years and years and YEARS with no pay AT ALL because, well, it's their GRANDKIDS and they must love it so why not? And I never understood that, because babysitting is often not the slightest bit fun. (Why on earth are we not "allowed" to acknowledge that said babysitting is WORK, mostly not the slightest bit fun?)

So seriously -- mowing a lawn for 15 minutes once every couple of weeks when your parents got all that free labor because, well, they're grandparents and expected to do everything for free ... so why not? Well, maybe because it WASN'T enjoyable most of the time but still expected somehow ... can we actually acknowledge that? Or is that some sacred line we are not supposed to cross?

I must be confused about something because ... you know, FAMILY, well ... really? Family is just shared DNA, nothing more than that, as is clearly shown when FAMILY beats the crap out of their relatives because they can. So holy crap, grandkids, give back to your grandparents for all the WORK that they did that YOUR PARENTS expected to be done for free.

[Okey Dokie]

I have a slightly different take on this. We have some minor outside jobs we need to have done, like painting our garage doors and trimming some bushes. Thinking of offering the job to one of the grandkids….who would certainly appreciate the cash. It won’t cost us as much as a “professional” would, if you could even find someone to do it.

[double6's]

the grandparents should pay and teach about investing..not drilling into their heads so they won't even want to, but just casually mention the magic of compound interest and how it works..show 'em where their money could be in a few years..

[WouldLoveTo]

I wouldn't ask the grandparent to pay. As kids we always had chores around the house that needed to be done and we weren't paid for them - yard work was one of them.

If you already pay your kid for mowing, you could always pay them for doing the grandparents too.

But 15 minutes and they get a lunch? I think that's payment enough.

[kygman]

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry

I would expect my kids to do it for free. It’s sad if you can’t help your family.

Thank you!!

[saibot]

If I were a grandparent, I would want to pay the grandchild. And I would be upset if his parents told me not to pay him. Indulging grandchildren has got to be one of the best things about being a grandparent.

But as a parent, I would model doing things for others without being paid. Those are two entirely different things.

[gentlearts]

I would expect my kid to do it for free, but if I’m the grandma, I would pay him $10. an hour. This would be an incentive to spend a whole hour working on the yard.

[Katnan]

Originally Posted by E-Twist

Have the grandparents been free babysitters? Do the Grandparents give the kids xmas and birthday presents? Family should help family without expectations. If anyone should pay it should be the kid's father since he's turned that duty over to his son. It should be mentioned to the teen that this is a quick thing to help his grandparents and not the kind of thing one normally charges. It doesn't sound like the grandparents said - hey grandson, I want to hire you. We haven't been told if the Grandparents are just living on Social Security or what their financial situation is. Little things can make a difference.

Grandparents actually sold their house an hour away to be closer to family. They are now 77 and 80 on a fixed income, they babysit quite regularly, just recently had the kids for a week while parents went on vacation. They help out shuttling kids to sports because two parents can't be in three different places at once. They contribute a lot to sport and activity fees and are very generous, often to their own detriment.

Grandparents didn't ask grandson to do this, as son has been doing it all along. Now that grandson is expressing the desire to earn money, (and as the firstborn, he is grandma's favourite) grandma feels she should be paying grandson $20 each time he mows the lawn, because he wants to make money and she'd have to pay that if anyone else was mowing the lawn. Son has been doing it for free, and given their ages, they will never need to pay anyone outside the family for lawnmowing. Son wants to teach grandson responsibility but is interesting to read many comments here that feel he should then be paying grandson himself.

Appreciate the perspectives from everyone!