Millennial parents claim boomer generation
has ABANDONED them over childcare and
are 'too busy traveling' to help out -
as grandparents hit back and say 'we didn't
have a damn nanny'
Daily Mail (UK),
by
Martha Williams
Original Article
Posted By: zephyrgirl,
11/30/2023 9:27:38 PM
Boomers are spending far more money on travelling than their parents did - leaving their own millennial kids without childcare as they jet off on vacations. Psychologist and millennial mother Leslie Dobson, 40, said she wishes her dad Ted Dobson, 71, was around to spend more time with her sisters and his grandchildren. But Dobson's dad is busy enjoying retirement on his boat in Mexico, he said 'I haven't spent a nickel less on my kids. I just spent some on me.'
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
mc squared 11/30/2023 10:03:50 PM (No. 1608077)
Can't count how many retired couples are living '3 generations' in their house. Can't go out for an evening because they're babysitting grand kids. Full time!
29 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
DVC 11/30/2023 10:09:38 PM (No. 1608080)
My grandparents never lived with an eight hour drive until I was in college, when I helped take care of them.
Zero sympathy.
16 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
qr4j 11/30/2023 10:16:28 PM (No. 1608083)
Millennials like this (not all are): Grow up. You had the kids. Take care of them. Have kids who behave well enough that grandparents would want to spend time with them.
34 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
sunshinehorses 11/30/2023 10:37:30 PM (No. 1608088)
Hubby and I are boomer parents. About 10 years ago, we moved half way across the country to get away from 2 of our "needy" kids - the youngest 2. Mom can solve anything, call Mom or Dad for this that or whatever. We joked that we were running away from our kids. We had 2 reasons for moving back to the state - my health - hubby wanted us near family to help in case I needed it and our middle finally had a baby and wanted Mom and Dad here. Now she has almost never asked for anything and the timing was right, so we moved back. Yes I took care of the youngest grandchild until she went to school. As it turned out, it was good we were here - grandchild is diabetic and daughter needed me to take care of her since daycare wasn't a good option.
11 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
red1066 11/30/2023 10:46:45 PM (No. 1608090)
I find it funny these millennial kids are complaining about not getting free babysitting services. In my circle, it's the millennial kids that take off on vacations to the Carribean islands or Mexico for a week leaving their kids with the grandparents. This wouldn't be an issue, except the millennial parents do this three or four times a year. In addition, the grandparents are expected to watch the grandkids at the drop of a hat when the parents of these kids decide to go out with friends. Meanwhile, the grand parents are exhausted from watching the kids and are too tired to go out themselves.
20 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Flyball Dogs 11/30/2023 10:50:49 PM (No. 1608091)
Incredibly vapid people.
Do they also watch “The View”?
14 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 11/30/2023 11:09:35 PM (No. 1608095)
When I met my husband he came with 5 daughters ages 8-15. Honestly I thought he’d be swimming in grandkids. But zero grandkids and no one seems in a hurry to have any. It’s both surprising and a little sad.
14 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
jalo1951 11/30/2023 11:14:36 PM (No. 1608096)
OMG, get a grip. They are your kids you take care of them. IF the grandparents offer to help out that's great. If not like I said, they are your kids. My husband and I have one son. He is newly divorced after 4 years. Thank God they did not have any children. Do I miss not having grandchildren, no, no I don't. My husband's stepmother watched our son once for 90 minutes when he was a baby. I had a doctor's appointment. My mother was a bit more helpful being the mother of six. She was a nurse and on her way home she would stop by and tell me to get a nap or take a shower. She knew what it was like being a new mom. We never went on vacation and never expected anyone to watch our son. He was our responsibility. If you do not want to take care of our kids then for goodness sakes don't have them. Leave your parents alone. I loved my grandparents very much and have wonderful memories but they were my grandparents. My parents were the primary caretakers. Simple advice, grow up.
18 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Axeman 11/30/2023 11:46:47 PM (No. 1608101)
We live close to our grands. Our kids both are doing just fine. We trade off and also join together with the youngins, which grew too fast. Wouldn't trade a minute of it.
6 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 11/30/2023 11:54:21 PM (No. 1608104)
After I retired from my corporate job, my wife and I moved away from the Denver area to escape the big lefty city thing and the traffic for small town living on the west slope. All three kids and spouses and all six grandkids are in Denver. We drive the 250 miles into town every four or five weeks for quality family time. We are often asked to baby sit which we happily do. Our kids never complain about lack of support.
After busting my can for 45 years workwise, we worship our vacations to far away places like our annual month-long trip to the Hawaiian Islands coming up in February to escape the snow and cold. And a return to Europe later next year. The kids appreciate our retired lifestyle as they like the example we set for ourselves. They hope to enjoy similar retirements and I hope they can. By the way, they don't use nannies.
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
texaspast 12/1/2023 12:43:34 AM (No. 1608113)
My dad's parents raised 6 children. Dad was born in 1922, and was the second child. I asked dad once when his parents first got electricity to their house. He said the first time he ever lived anywhere with electricity was the Marine barracks when he enlisted in 1942. Heck, I remember when my grandparents got indoor plumbing. All those 6 kids had children. They were the best grandparents one could ever hope for - but they NEVER babysat us. Taught me how to shoot, fish, mow pasture, but that was not babysitting. In fact I remember my grandmother saying (in my hearing) 'I raised my six children - I'm not raising somebody else's '. Grandparents need to have that attitude!
7 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
SALady 12/1/2023 1:13:56 AM (No. 1608117)
Traditionally, grandparents were happy to help take care of their grandchildren if their adult children (the parents) really needed the help. It's what families did. I remember my grandmother helping take care of my younger sister so my parents could buy their first house. My grandmother loved it, and was happy to help.
But so many of the parent's generation today are selfish, entitled, spoiled brats, that just want the grandparents for free babysitting while they spend on luxuries and selfish things for themselves. They have two high-paying jobs, and can easily afford good daycare for their kids. But instead of taking care of their own kids, they just want the free babysitting.
9 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
RWPollock 12/1/2023 5:17:23 AM (No. 1608154)
The cuddled, sheltered, pampered , immature, spoiled ,not-prepared -for -the -real -world millennial generation are now having to face adult real world issues that they are not prepared to do. Appears they still cannot function without mommy and daddy. This is pathetic.
6 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Rather Read 12/1/2023 5:29:01 AM (No. 1608164)
Boomer here. I can't afford to travel and am still working full time because of Bidenflation. My Gen X kids and grandkids are the ones who travel.
10 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Sully 12/1/2023 6:21:21 AM (No. 1608184)
Generation YOLO. Jealous of generation Worker Bee. I will criticize the Boomers for one thing. They did raise a generation of spoiled brats.
My saintly in-laws did daycare our first child and it was a wonderful experience. But when the second kid came the wife quit her job and we lived on one paycheck for many years while the the rest of the kids came along, until we had 2 kids in college and a bunch to follow. Um, we did not travel. Our kids are far from spoiled as with most large families.
These Boomers paid alotta baby sitters. Stop the crying and the envy.
1 person likes this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
chumley 12/1/2023 6:42:10 AM (No. 1608189)
Mrs C and I were married at the tail end of the disco era and dated toward the end of the hippie era. I made the conscious decision not to 1. Move in together before marriage, thus wrecking her reputation and taking her off the market with no protections. 2. Move back in with parents, thus admitting failure. and 3. Sticking her with children and no husband, for obvious reasons. If more kids stopped doing what is stylish and start doing whats right, things would go better.
5 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
NancyD 12/1/2023 7:22:30 AM (No. 1608218)
These Adults with children have their priorities out of whack.
They still want vacations with just their friends and drive fancy cars. They work full time and maybe see the kids 3-4 hours a day. That is sad to me.
I quit my job when the 1st child was born, I cut coupons, drove a minivan, and when we went out we took the kids with us. Never vacationed without the kids. During the day, I'd take them to the zoo (family pass was $50 per year) and to the airport viewing area to watch planes take off and land and take them to parks for a picnic and playground. It's all about priorities. Now its hand them a phone and they can entertain themselves.
9 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
RayLRiv 12/1/2023 8:23:44 AM (No. 1608277)
THIS Boomer is busy raising his own children. I didn't get married til I was 39 and we adopted two boys - one from Guatemala and the other from China. They're 18 and 13, respectively.
2 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
MickTurn 12/1/2023 9:49:17 AM (No. 1608343)
Get a life Slackers, your parents are retired and are NOT your baby sitters!
1 person likes this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
dbdiva 12/1/2023 12:35:48 PM (No. 1608485)
The women interviewed for this piece are entitled and self-centered to the max. Children typically require parents to put themselves on the back burner --- at least for a while. If married couples are unwilling to do that, then perhaps parenthood is not for them. Grandparents should be loved and appreciated for who they are and what they can teach their grandkids; it should not be an automatic expectation that first and foremost they must provide baby sitting, maid service, or chauffeur duties unless they enjoy doing those things for the kids and THEY offer to do them.
0 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
udanja99 12/1/2023 4:48:14 PM (No. 1608616)
This reminds me of a meme my daughter (who calls me at least once a day) recently sent me -
Me (on the phone with my mom): When are these kids going to be less needy?
My Mom: Well, you’re in your mid 30’s and on the phone with me so…
0 people like this.
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Comments:
When I was growing up, my grandparents never once took care of my sister and me. Both sets lived hundreds of miles away in opposite directions, and never visited. Instead, they demanded that my parents load us up in the car and drive us to see them once a year. We NEVER spent holidays at home.