Headaches, upset stomach, and feeling generally yucky are all symptoms of an alcoholic hangover. What you ask is a grandparent hangover? A grandparent hangover results from grand kids spending time with loving but overstimulating and overindulgent grandparents. The grandparent hangover occurs when the kids return and they are overtired, overstimulated, overfed (mostly junk), and are generally unpleasant to be around. The grandparents don't fed the kids booze but they do fed them a ton of juice and dessert. If you could get high on sugar, they would be flying. The kids are not kept to their normal sleep schedules and have way more activity then they usually have. The grandparents want to do stuff with the kids, which is great but they need down time and naps too. My kids have a serious case of the grandparent hangover. They have been whining and crying pretty much constantly since they came home. These are my kids and I'm considering giving them Benadryl to just get them to sleep. I just want the noise to stop so that the bleeding from my ears will stop too.
The grandparents often supply free babysitting, sometimes they even watch the kids overnight. The kid free time is great but there is hell to pay when they return. I wish I could pick my daughter up right before bedtime to reduce the amount of torture I must endure before bedtime. The only thing that seems to cure the grandparent hangover much like the traditional hangover is sleep. Generally the kids wake up in good moods and the hangover is just a horrible memory.
Now don't get me wrong, I love the grandparents and I'm happy that my kids get to spend so much time with them. I also love the kid free time. I just wish I didn't have to have the hangover afterward. I guess just like booze there is a price to pay too.
Please tell me my kids are not the only ones who suffer from grandparent hangovers. Also what is ticking you off this Tuesday? Feel free to share in the comments or leave a link.
9 comments:
I'm glad you came up with a name for this condition. My kids are the same way. The only way to treat a grandparent hangover is to sleep it off, just like a regular old hangover and if the kids were overnight at G&Gs, there's a good chance that my husband and I have a hangover too.
We call it grandparent detox. The kids rarely get an overnight away but as you know the grandparents come often to visit for the weekend (or we go there). Most of the time it involves me biting my tongue when they get chocolate and 4 yogurts for breakfast while I get to sleep in, or eat an entire container of mints.
FIL is coming in to town today, so I can expect all of the above.
Hope the price of your "free" babysitting was worth it for some good alone time with Dave!
We just came back from 2 weeks at grandma and grandpa's house.
My kid is going through some serious withdrawals.
It's driving me nuts!
LOL - so true. My parents "yes" everything when my kids ask.
my nephew gets that way from his grandparents - we do not allow my hubs parents to spend long periods of time with the kids - for this exact reason!
yep, grandparents have their own set of rules. My mom is always harping about my son not getting enough sleep, but when he spends the week with them he is often up until 11:30!
gotta love 'em though :-)
My kids used to suffer this malaise, but we used to call it "Daddy Hangover." I worked weekends, Dad was in charge, and you know the rest of the story...
I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but we have never experienced this. My parents aren't your typical grandparents. I think it's kinda cool to have grandparent hangover. I wish my daughter had fun grandparents.
Same here, but it's a small price to pay for a date night with hubby. I'll take the hungover kids.
Post a Comment