Why do grandparents spoil their grandchildren when you were anything but spoiled? The answer I believe consists of three things: Time, Money, and Love.
Time
Grandparents usually have fewer competing pressures for their time. They are often retired. So they don’t have the stress of a daily job. It also means that they are home during the day and if your child comes to visit they have plenty of time to spend with them.
Money
My parents have a lot more money now than they ever did when I was a child. Many grandparents find themselves in this situation. Therefore they spend their money on the people they love best – their grandchildren. Not that they don’t love you their child, but if they give you money or presents then they are spoiling their children and every parent knows you aren’t supposed to do that. Besides what grandmother doesn’t like to shop for her grandchildren?
Love
I’ve heard it jokingly said, “That the reason people have children is so they can have grandchildren.” There is some truth to the statement. Most of the time grandchildren are happy to see their grandparents and are less likely to get in trouble. Grandparents are more relaxed. I remember my mother making the comment that her father was a different man as a grandfather than he had been as a father. Grandparents find it easier to ignore the “small disasters that accompany small children.”
As a grandparent they aren’t responsible for ensuring that their grandchildren turn out right, they just get to love them. Therefore they can break the rules that they enforced with you as a child and not feel guilty about it.
Grandparents also love to see the evidence of their success as a parent, your children.
For more information on how to deal with grandparents spoiling their grandchildren see my blog “How to keep grandparents from spoiling their grandchildren!”