I remember the first time I took my baby to visit my parents. I walked into the living room and there was an actual antique sword leaning up against the open fireplace. It was whatever the opposite of baby proofing is. And as one might imagine, it was just the beginning of a very stressful and exhausting week of parenting that was supposed to be a vacation.
Now one woman on TikTok is showing the world how her parents knocked it out of the park when preparing for a visit from her family — which includes a young toddler. The mom, who says her parents are a two-hour flight away in Florida, did everything right in order to expect regular and ongoing visits from the grandkids for years to come.
“They have made it so that I will come back again and again with my child,” she begins. “If you want to know how to do that — how to get your grandkids at your house — watch. Take notes.”
She then begins with a tour of her parent’s living room, which has been transformed into a safe and fun place for her baby to play (and mom to relax). There’s not a sword in sight!
“You set up a play area with a bunch of toys for them to play with,” she says. “You protect the corners so that nobody bonks their head on anything. And I mean all the corners.”
Supplies for eating and drinking also make parents’ lives so much easier.
“You have water cups that they can use,” she says, showing the goods. “A high chair.”
And if you don’t have to travel with enough diapers and wipes for a week? These stellar grandparents have you covered.
“We’re got a diaper changing station with everything supplied. Wipes, diapers, they asked me my preferences.”
Safety is always a concern for these grandparents, too. They even installed a baby gate, bless their hearts.
“There’s a baby gate at the top of the stairs, no one’s getting hurt.”
Upstairs, the baby has a quiet, dark place to nap.
“We have a blackout curtain to block the sun from this little makeshift bedroom they created so that he could sleep in the dark. There’s a camera.
And even more diapers and wipes!
“And then we have a whole wardrobe that’s been emptied and wipes have been supplied, we have towels, we have linens, we have shampoo for my baby and his sensitive skin — and more diapers!”
All in all? This place is a dream to visit, and she’ll be back.
“That’s it. You make it as easy to be here as it is to be home. Done. Bam. We’ll be back. Five-star review.”
“And no, you can’t have my grandparents,” she adds.
Down in the comments, everyone was impressed — and more than a few people were jealous.
“This is ‘the village.’ People who care about you and your family enough to make you want to visit them,” one person wrote.
“If you build it .. they will come,” another wrote. “And leave them there so you can get Starbucks in peace.”
“The grandparents are more prepared than I am for my own child,” one wrote, hilariously.
Others — who seem like they have parents more like mine — described the nightmare of visiting relatives who don’t think about baby.
“Mine leave out about 10 knives at knee height and get annoyed when I move them,” one person wrote. “Not to mention the million choking hazards and breakable heirlooms.”
“Not me having to order diapers/wipes & ask on the day of my trip for a pack n play… basically doing it all,” one person wrote. “I won’t go back.”
And a few also gushed about even more nice things their parents do to make them comfortable and happy.
“My parents and grandparents ask what my wife and we want them to give our kids. What are our rules and restrictions. Its great,” one person shared.
“We travel with clothes and like 4 diapers for each kid and they fly in their car seats,” one shared. “My parents have everything there!”
“Car seats in their car!” one also added about how grandparents can prepare even more.
Anyway, hope some grandparents are listening: a few diapers and wipes can go a long way toward getting lots and lots of visits from your beloved grandbabies. It doesn’t take much to show your care toward them — and toward your kids, too.
