Owen attempts to get to the bottom of this whole grandparents thing. Who are these people? What do they want? And why are they smiling? Owen's Mum and Dad share their grandparenting philosophy, and their chardonnay. DadLabs Ep. 403.

DADDY OWEN: When a child is born so are two parents, even more so, four grandparents. Who are these new creatures? What should they be doing in your world? Well, this seems like a very good time to both ask my mum and on this special episode, ask my dad.

So, grandparenting! It’s what we’re talking about. What would you guys say is the specific job of the grandparent? Not the parent but the grandparent?

DAD: To say “yes” a lot.

DADDY OWEN: Yes to the child? Or yes to the parent who’s also your kid?

DAD: Actually I find it easier to say yes to most people these days.

DADDY OWEN: You know, Arden is with you guys sometimes and you guys do a lot of babysitting and pick her up, stuff like that. We ask you to take care of her when we go out and do some crazy illegal drugs. What are the boundaries there? Is that ok? When do we ask too much of you guys?

MUM: I don’t think you ask enough. In fact I’m just waiting to meet her outside of school. You said I should do that one day and I keep saying to Dad every day, “he hasn’t asked us which day.” So there’s a boundary, you need to tell us because we’re the ones who never ask the questions. We’re always the ones who answer them. That’s the way it has to be.

DADDY OWEN: I see, so you’re saying we should ask for more, not wait for you to offer.

MUM and DAD: Correct.

DAD: And the drugs bit, did she tell you about that?

DADDY OWEN: Yeah, she mentions that. You guys were talking about the whole “saying yes” and being able to spoil the kids which is fun but a lot of what we talk about at DadLabs is about the changing views of parenting. When do you think a grandparent has the right to speak and advise and critique and when do grandparents bite their tongue?

DAD: When you’re asked for it.

MUM: Mmmhmm, only when you’re asked for it.

DADDY OWEN: Do you have a favorite grandchild?

MUM: No!

DAD: Yes, but I’m not saying.

MUM: Because we do but it varies from day to day. Sometimes it varies from hour to hour.

DADDY OWEN: Tell me about Camp Nana. What that is and what is the vision of that.

DAD: It started a few years ago when we only had two grandchildren and they would visit us from California and we called it camp Nana and we did all sorts of exciting things like go to Wal-Mart and Marshals. You know, things that grandkids like to do and it just developed from there.

DADDY OWEN: Haha, now you go to Target as well!

DAD: We do go to Target occasionally, yes.

DADDY OWEN: Next summer, Sam’s!

MUM: We go for picnics and state parks and we go swimming. It’s the one time Dad and I ever get to eat a hamburger or a hot dog.

DADDY OWEN: The nursing home doesn’t allow that? So with that you take the grandkids for like a week, just you guys and the grandkids. And that’s good.

MUM and DAD: Yes.

MUM: It’s great. No interfering parents. Very lovely. We get to feed them what we think they should eat.

DAD: And we get to spank them every now and then. Just kidding!

DADDY OWEN: This is the strangest camp I’ve ever heard of! These are my parents and this has been Ask My Mum!