Parenting with MG

[Sharon Haw]

I babysit my 3-1/2 yr old granddaughter two days a week from 8am-6pm. She’s really energetic and due to the pandemic restrictions, as an only child, she’s had only 1 friend her age, so I’m more of a friend. The energetic activities are the most challenging. We’ve developed some compromises, such as we take turns dancing but her turn is much longer than mine. Grandma needs to sit down (my back gets tired) rather than stand so I  strategically placed chairs and benches. Her parents needed the most education about my MG. They signed me up to take her to a gym class for 3 yr olds where I had to participate the entire time – I did it but needed a day of recovery. Next time was an art class (worked great) and a gymnastics class where I was only expected to watch, which let my granddaughter burn off some energy and have fun with no effort on my part. At my house, we do a lot of crafty activities and I modified some active games so she does the running around, e.g., I’m the goal keeper in soccer so she’s chasing the ball. She likes simple food that’s easy to prepare which makes it easier on me. So far, so good.