Both of us travel for work the same week in November. Is three nights too much to leave on her grandmother?

apricot_sketch_413218 Oct 2026

First time this has happened. My partner has a client trip and I have a research study in another city, and the dates overlap by three nights. Neither can move. Her grandmother lives with us and is the obvious answer, and she's already said 'of course'. But our daughter is 5 and has endless energy, and normally one of us does bath, dinner and the bedtime negotiations while grandmother has the daytime. Doing all of it alone for three days straight is a different job. She doesn't drive either, so school drop and pickup need sorting too. If you've left a grandparent in charge on their own for a few days, what did you put in place so it wasn't all on them? Someone coming in for the evenings, a neighbour on call, a lighter week of activities? ❤️

2 comments

ivory_camera_41818 Oct 2026
Ugh, overlapping trips. Nobody has done a full night with ours except us, she's 2, so I'm reading with interest. Would an evening helper just for bath and dinner work? I'd guess that stretch is the most tiring part for a grandparent, more than the day.
- maple_drum_799519 Oct 2026
  An evening helper is what saved us. A couple of years ago I had a four-day workshop out of town in the same week my partner had to be at a family function, and my mother stayed with our daughter. We booked someone for 5 to 8 pm. My mother said afterwards that was the only reason she wasn't flattened by day two, though she'd insisted beforehand she didn't need anyone. Book it even if the grandparent says no.
saffron_tiffin_696219 Oct 2026
I would ask her grandmother directly which parts she'd like help with, rather than deciding for her. Some grandparents are happy with bedtime and dread the school run; others the reverse. And tell your daughter well ahead, with a small calendar she can cross off. Children that age cope better with an absence when they can see where it ends.
- sunny_camera_810719 Oct 2026
  The 'ask which parts' bit is good. We assumed my mother would want the mornings with our daughter, and it turned out mornings were the part she found hardest. We only learnt that because she told my sister 😅