Grandma makes babysitting confession: ‘Been there, done that’

Babysitting your grandkids can be fun and exciting, but everyone has their limits.

That’s what Katie Peterson, a 52-year-old grandmother from Oklahoma, explained to her followers in a viral TikTok video, posted Nov. 11.

“‘I can’t imagine not wanting to keep my grandkids every single day’ — not me,” she said at the beginning of the video.

“I had my granddaughter overnight on Friday night and all day Saturday and by Saturday night, I was like, ‘When are your parents coming to pick you up?’ ” she added.

She goes on to explain that her granddaughter, Sage, who is two years old, is “the best” 98% of the time, but her two-year-old instincts eventually kick in.

Once her granddaughter starts throwing fits, Peterson has had enough.

“I love my empty nest and I love getting to sit out here ... on my patio and not have to be responsible for a tiny human,” she explains. “Been there, done that.”

Peterson says she only needs about a 12- to 24-hour break before she’s ready to be a grandma again.

“I’ll be honest. By yesterday — so, literally less than 24 hours later, — she’s FaceTiming me and I’m like, ‘Come back! Come back over! I miss you!’” she says in the video.

“That’s how I like to grandparent,” she concludes.

Peterson further defended her stance in an interview with Today.com, published Nov. 19.

She argued that a lot of grandparents today allow their kids to “take advantage of them.”

And since most kids expect their parents to care for their children, the grandparents often feel an “immense guilt” since they don’t want to watch them all the time.

“Thankfully, I really have not found that with my kids. We have healthy boundaries,” she said to Today.com.

One of those “healthy boundaries” is having her son — and his “wonderful” wife — understand that she isn’t willing to make herself available every day.

“If we kept our granddaughter every day, then it would feel like we were parenting,” Peterson told the outlet.

“We’ve already raised our kids ... and we want to be grandparents,” she continued.

While she does regularly spend time with her granddaughter, she admits that it’s on her terms and that her son and daughter-in-law “respect her schedule,” according to Today.com.

“I love every chance I get to see her, I really do,” she adds. “I just don’t want to be a full-time babysitter.”

She also has a second grandchild on the way, this time a baby boy, according to her Instagram.

“We are so excited! Sweet Sagey girl is going to be the best big sister! Grandparenting is the best!” Peterson wrote in the caption.

Peterson’s TikTok video has amassed 76,000 views, 2,960 likes, and more than 680 comments, as of Nov. 19.

Many users rushed to the comments to share their own opinions — and many of them agreed with Peterson.

One user commented that it’s for “young folks only,” while another one argued that “they exhaust me but miss them as soon as they leave.”

“I have a 2 year old and a 4 month old granddaughters. [They] wear me out. I was on the floor and had to crawl to the couch to get up,” wrote another user.

“I love seeing them more than anything but I know my physical limits.”