My grandsons are back from a month with their parents in the Gulf, and the little one won't settle

juniper_button_465719 Jul 2026

Assalamualaikum. I look after my two grandsons in Falaknuma while their parents work in the Gulf. This summer the boys went to stay with them for the full vacation, the longest they have been together in years. They came back in June. The elder went straight back to his cricket and his friends. The younger one is a different matter. Every night he asks when his ammi is coming, he cries when the video call ends, and twice this month he has refused to put on his school uniform. I taught small children for many years, but with my own grandson I don't know what to do. How long does this take? Should the calls be shorter, or longer? His mother feels very bad and asks me about him every day.

3 comments

saffron_sandal_502319 Jul 2026
my son is like this every time his nani goes back after a visit. about two weeks of clingy and then it fades. he's 3 though, yours is older and understands more, so maybe longer
banyan_bookmark_517919 Jul 2026
not a parent yet, so take this lightly. would a calendar on his wall help, with the next call or visit marked on it? something he can count down to instead of an open question
hazel_badminton_152720 Jul 2026
The school mornings are the part I'd keep an eye on, because that's where the worry shows itself. With my son, when he was smaller, it was always mornings after a big change. What helped us was a very boring routine. Same breakfast, same walk, and calls at a fixed time every day rather than whenever the parents were free. Short and regular worked better than long and unpredictable. It took about a month for us, not a week, so please don't lose heart.