Summer is coming, and that means fun times with the grandbabies. It’s going to the pool and the park, taking walks, and getting ice cream. And that means you need to keep those precious little lives safe, using all the standard safety equipment and taking all the safety measures “they” say is necessary.

Therefore, if you don’t have a Ph.D. in physics and you’re over the age of 45, you’ll not be able to get the car seat into the car or the stroller open — or worse, closed. You’ll not be able to get the baby out of the highchair, and you’ll not be able to decipher the instructions for breaking down the pack-and-play. You will not be able to successfully get the safely lock off the toilet seat.

All this leads to loving grandparents saying words under their breath that their precious little babies shouldn’t hear. It causes great fear and the realization that if you can’t get the lock off that toilet seat, you’re left to a sad attempt with the potty-training chair. That leads to panic and a sense of defiance against an entire generation of baby producers.

Instructions, please!
Our grown children attempt to leave us instructions on the care of their children. We instantly put our hands up. We’ve done this before a time or two. We don’t need to know how to take care of little humans.

What we need to know is how to unlock, unfold, unlatch and open contraptions. I personally have a rule that if they want me to take their kids anywhere, they must first put the car seats into the car. If you haven’t attempted to secure a child’s safety seat into a car correctly in the last decade, you’re in for the most challenging feat you will ever face.

Not one feature on any safety device for babies or toddlers is feasible to maneuver unless you have thin, elastic arms that have the strength of steel. You must be able to understand geometry and physics on the highest level. It’s like the childproof cap backward. These products really should come with a warning: Not intended for use by humans over 45.

We can do ‘love’
When stumped, I mostly rely on an older sibling when I can. Of course, they walk over and simply touch “something,” and then what I needed to happen, happens. But the littlest ones or singles without siblings — they’re hopelessly helpless in the care of loving grandparents. We would do anything for them if we could only get them out of the highchair or car seat.

It’s going to be a great summer of making memories with our precious babies, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep them safe. We’re going to stay home a lot and play in the yard and take walks.

We’re going to make our own ice cream cones and eat outside on a blanket. Our toilet is free from lid locks because Mimi and Papaw aren’t very far behind those busy little legs. We might not know how to work their gear, but we do know how to love them.

McClain writes from Greenwood, Ind.