No, I’m not giving my kids away!!!

But the more I think about it, the more I realize that people from different age groups might be able to provide things that I’m not capable of.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to wipe my hands of the job entirely, just augment it a bit… 

From the age 20s age group: 

My sister and her husband have taken my kids for a few weekends and spend time with my kids during the holidays.  During these time periods, I try to let my sister and brother-in-law play with my kids interact with my kids as much as possible while I disappear onto a different floor to read.

From Older Age Groups:

With the parents, usually the kids visit them for the day or stay overnight.  My parents (both mine and my wife’s) are able to teach my kids skills that I just don’thave or know.  My father-in-law is a great craftsman, so my son will learn woodworking from him.  My dad is an engineer, so hopefully my son will be able to improve this natural ability with math and science. 

My mother-in-law has many skills: cooking, painting, sewing, gardening, etc!  My daughter will learn tons from her too!

I mention this because in a few weeks we’ll be going on vacation!  This year are we going to Hilton Head, with my parent and sister’s family.  For me it will be a time of relaxation and time to catchup on reading.  During this time period I will do stuff with the kids, but I like taking a second seat with respect to the attention that they receive from others.  When everybody else is tired and my kids still want to do stuff, that’s when I take over.  I did this last year, and I’ll do it again this year.

What do you think of my approach?  Do you think that I’m broading my kids experiences or does this just confuse them?

-MR