Bad Granny

When our grandchildren moved here from Boston, we knew our lives would change for the busier - and we were right!  About once a week, we get a chance to do something fun with our grands and, because they are very active and hungry, it often includes a meal.

As you may know, I am a novice at this child care thing. When my little brother was born, I was eight, so in theory I know a bit about kids but never having had any of my own, my skills are not only rusty, they are about 50 years out of date. When I stopped needing to know about parenting, spanking was still the rule.  Happily, these days, things are a lot more kid-friendly.

We have been given car seats for the children - who ever heard of car seats when we were young?  We didn't even use seat belts until my little brother was about six!  We just all piled in and fought to get next to the window, then squabbled about who was taking up more than her/his allotted space in the back seat until our parents would roar at us from the front seat.

We also have been trained about what foods we are to avoid when we keep the children. Feeding kids was simpler in my day - they just ate whatever the parents ate, foods that we now know were not particularly good for them. Did you know that juice weakens the enamel on those little teeth? These days, even mac and cheese from a box is organic.

Last week, as our son-in-law was beginning his first week at his new California-based job and his wife was back east turning over her position to her replacement, we were called upon to pick up the kiddos from school, give them dinner, let them play for a while, then give them baths, put them in their PJs, and tuck them into bed. 

The first question was, "What do we feed them?"

Happily, my older sister had children, one of her own and several foster children, so she is my go-to guide when I need kid advice. I called her and her suggestion for both playing and eating was one-stop shopping - McDonald's!  

Now, I know that Mickey D's is probably not on the Parental List of Approved Dining, but I also remembered our granddaughter telling me that they both love McDonald's, so I knew that we weren't breaking long-established norms by taking them there. Both children knew exactly what they wanted. Both children ate their entire meals, and Owen ate Mia's apple slices as well as his own and half of my fries.

We learned that Owen (he's three) likes catsup. Lots of catsup. In fact, he dipped his entire meal in catsup - chicken nuggets, fries, and - get this! - even his apple slices. He was a glorious, red mess by the end of the meal, but he had a fine time.

The rest of the evening went well - playing was safe, bathing was fun, and there was little struggle with the PJs. I may be Bad Granny for taking them to McDonald's but when he got home from work the Dad was grateful nonetheless.