Our great-nieces came to visit yesterday.
One’s 18 months-old the others just nine weeks.
They both brought their parents with them, one also brought an aunt, the other brought a grandmother; another set of grandparents and a great-grandmother arrived too.
All day all the adults helped to look after the wee girls – cuddling, reading and singing to, and playing with them.
There was always someone to share the care with the parents, keeping an eye outt to ensure the wee ones were safe and happy. There were lots of laughs and lots of love.
This is normal for our family.
The shame and tragedy is that it isn’t normal for all families.
Making it normal for all children to grow up in a loving home with the loving support of wider family and friends ought to be the goal of the Green paper on vulnerable children.
But how do we achieve that when loving, supportive families aren’t the norm for far too many parents?
Must have been a day for it Ele, we had swmbo’s cousin and family, three generations of stable relationships, here for lunch with a two something toddler and then later after they went home an old paradise duck couple from Nth Canty called unexpectedly with three of their grandies.
One thing that exercises us in the absence of Grandchildren of our own is our home is definitely not “Toddler” proof but the four little guests gave much hope for our future as they were all spirited but were responsive to the light control on their behaviour.
You are right in your post with the comments on “normality” and it aint just “luck”.
Good post, Ele. It’s certainly something that we all take for granted these days. It certainly was the same for me growing up down Wanaka and now for my family. I guess, thats why I find it strange when others can’t get it together.
Tis obviously the weekend for it. Daughter, SIL and their four children in a tent on our back lawn since Thursday, Son, partner and their three children arrived this morning and all plus daughter (that SIL is working) and 3 children are now down the road a few hundred metres at Splash Planet.
Home on my own so peace reigns but all hell will break loose when they all turn up her later this after noon. It’s the noise you know – none of them know how to whisper.
Lol. Good luck PDM