I Want Grandkids - Television Tropes & Idioms

This troper heard it from her mother when she introduced her first boyfriend. We were 14.
- Omg, me too. I asked them about it later, and they said it was the most effective form of birth control.
My mother...Just...my mother...
My parents sometimes ask me semi-jokingly if they're going to see grandkids, to which I give a deadpan reply, "From my brother, perhaps". I tell them constantly that I'm never going to have children, although they just shrug it off.
"I want nieces/nephews" variant: this troper's father was told by his future mother-in-law, on the way to the church, that if he wasn't really sure he wanted to marry this troper's mother he didn't have to. She was promptly hushed by this troper's aunts. This may also be a family tradition of sorts, since this troper's uncle has asked her when she's getting married.
Averted wholeheartedly by this troper's parents—everyone (troper included) was actually quite pleased when I found out at, at the age of 21, that I couldn't have children.
- You wouldn't happen to be a girl named Charlie, would you? If not, it's a crazy coincidence.
Also averted by this troper's mother, who at 43 considers herself far too young to be a grandmother. Both troper and her sister were warned never to have any kids because their mother said she did not want to use "Wanna come up and see my grandchild?" as a pick-up line!
Averted by this troper's mother and grandmother, who insist that he should wait before thinking on marriage and stuff like that. Played straight with this troper's aunt, who is recently engaged and her mom is already asking her to give her grandkids (despite already having three)
Lampshaded by this troper's parents when they found out she was a lesbian, who had a good laugh at her expense about how difficult it would be for them to have grandkids now.
- This gay troper's mother went through a period of "But I want grandkids!" before switching to "Oh well, at least your sister's straight" and then, when said sister kept insisting she didn't want kids, "You can still adopt..."
- I happen to have two sisters, though-my older sister is straight and engaged, but there are definite hints my younger sister is at least bi.
- Mom's "I want grandkids," comments mysteriously disappeared after coming out as bi, but she's even more vocal in support of my Stalker With A Crush, because if I just manage to find a nice boy first I'll somehow become straight. *head-desk*
I get this all the time from my mom.
Mom: I want grand kids preferable granddaughters (my sister has 3 boys)
Me: We'll see.
My mom and dad still have a hard time understanding that I don't want kids mainly because I'm very selfish.
Though I don't know if she ever actually said this, but this troper's grandmother (on my dad's side) played this trope pretty straight. In the two years before I was born, my aunt and uncle had two healthy baby boys, and that was all well and good, but the day I was born, she rushed down to the hospital and held me for at least an hour and a half. My grandmother is an incredibly conservative woman who loves dolls and thinks we're still in the Victorian Age; she really wanted a granddaughter to make dresses for. Well, she finally got one. The next year, my aunt and uncle had their third kid, a girl, and she bombarded the two of us with dresses until we were about twelve or thirteen years old. As children, we were occasionally poked with pins and told to stand still while we heard about how pretty the dresses would look. The problem was that my mother, who had decided to stay at home with me, wanted to sew some dresses for me, so it was like "Clothing Wars" or something. And some of the dresses my grandma made were rather dowdy. We're still doted on like we're perpetually five years old to this day.
I'll likely be saying this to my kids the moment they get a date, just to make sure they get the point. Oddly enough, though, I've never heard it from my parents.
I have a cousin that got married within the past year or so. Incidentally, his mom is a serious dog-lover, and at that point in time, was without a dog companion. Cousin's new wife knew how much she loved dogs, and periodically asked her why she hadn't gotten another one yet. My aunt would always reply with "Get me some grandchildren first!" Incidentally, both sides of the issue have since been resolved.
This troper is 15 and her grandmother and mother are both going at it. Heck, she has never even dated!
This troper's mom was horrified when he told her that he probably would never marry.
My folks still think I'm kidding when I say that I don't want children (and with five siblings, you'd think they'd start pestering some of the others by now). Of course, since I'd stick my own hand in a juicer before I could ever muster the raw nerve to even ask a woman out, let alone get married, I won't be having any kids even if I do change my mind.
After we got fed up of this, both my sister and I started telling our mother that the pets we each own are the closest thing she's going to get for a long time, if ever.
Completely averted in that this troper and her mother wholeheartedly despise people trying to run their kids' lives like that. However, m cousin was born because I was. Pressured by my grandmother and her own inferiority complexes, my aunt had to do everything my mother did. As a result, this troper feels a bit guilty that her cousin turned out to be a drug-addicted pole dancer.
Averted by this troper's mother. Said mother's cousin, on the other hand, was at one point absolutely CRAZY about it, constately asking her adult children about grandchildren for as long as this troper can remember (I'm 23 now). When she realized it'd be a long time before she saw any grandchildren - her son's then-fiancé was a recovering anorexic, her daughter was always single - she randomly asked my sister if she wasn't going to have children soon. My sister was 19, still in school, and very much single, not to mention her cousin's daughter. I was only spared because I was 16. Fast forward to about a year ago when her son's wife (not the same as the fiancé) gives birth to a girl... You'd think she'd be overjoyed and be spoiling the grandchild as much as possible, right? Nope. Sure she talks about the kid and babysits her and such, but it's her husband who's in full Proud Grandfather mode and plays with the kid. Which is probably why the kid always chooses him over her. The rest of us, including the daughter/Proud-Aunt, finds this hilarious.
My maternal grandmother is like this, she insisted that my sister get married and have kids ASAP, screw her study and career first plans. My sister responded with saying she was so unlikely to get married in her situation, she'd likely adopt and save herself the potty training hassle. My grandmother was horrified and disapproved of raising someone who isn't your blood, says she'll miss the funnest part, and in that case should just get knocked up! For myself, my mom wants me to give her grandkids too (my sister got married and is two months into her pregnancy now) but is extremely jealous and despises the idea of me dating at all. So, I guess my only options are to give her illegitimate grandkids, I guess. ... Then again, it's likelier for me to get married and not have kids for a few years just to mess with her on the subject, future!wife willing.
This Troper has a version of this. When I was born, my paternal grandmother said that she didn't believe she would see my wedding. She is the only one of my grandparents still alive, and I hope to not only prove her wrong, but to also let her see at least one great grandchild before she dies.
My parents are understanding that they're almost certainly never going to have grandkids, but they do sponge baby-vibes off any relatives that comes into range.
If it makes the ladies feel any better, this male troper gets the same question from his mother. All attempts at trying to Squick her to get her to stop have backfired. Horribly.
This troper's grandparents want great-grandchildren. As all of their other grandchildren apart from my brother (who never seems to date anybody) are under ten years old and both grandparents' health are failing, this results in a lot of uncomfortable pressure every single time my boyfriend comes up in conversation. I don't really have the heart to tell them that I'm asexual and never intend on having sex at all, let alone that I dislike children and my boyfriend never wants to be a parent.
- Wait, if you're asexual, Why do you have a boyfriend? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?
  - She said asexual, not aromantic. Just because asexuals don't want sex doesn't mean we don't want romantic companionship.
Inverted by this troper, in that she is waiting for her dad and stepmom, who just got married last year, to give her a baby brother or sister.
My parents have never pressured me to give them grandkids, and besides, my brother has a wonderful daughter that they dote on. If that wasn't enough, I organize punk shows and I've "adopted" the young punks as my "grandkids". So I get to skip the nerve-wracking experience of parenthood, and we're all happy.
This troper was certain that her parents didn't care (heck, they haven't even given me 'the talk' yet, though I did the research myself after a while). Then, in another attempt to get them to give me the talk so they'll stop treating me like a little kid, I jokingly said that I'd never manage to get a date and that they should just tell me. Their reply? "Oh, we're sure you'll find a nice girl to settle down with and adopt some grandkids for us to spoil!" This troper is female and, while not certain, has a fairly good idea that she isn't a lesbian.
One of the reasons this troper's mother insists on him finally saying "yes" to a lady admirer.
My mom's been pestering me about my romantic life for years on these grounds. Fortunately, my sister has found herself a fine man, and they are getting hitched in July, so I'm off the hook. For now, at least.
This troper's parents and parents-in-law are both strangely laid back about the fact that troper and her husband will never be giving them grandchildren. Troper's mother-in-law is particularly fond of her "grandcats" and buys them Christmas presents.
- Well, an update to this entry has the same Troper's mother, who was previously sensible about such things, has suddenly jumped on the wanting grandchildren bandwagon. She doesn't dare harass Troper (who is infertile), but has been driving Troper's younger sister up the bloody wall.
This Troper's father was horrified when she said she never wanted to get married or have kids. Or that this Troper would rather adopt. He is still insisting she will come around someday, no matter how many times he is told otherwise.
This straight male troper's parents used to complain endlessly about this until he explained to them that he got a vasectomy as soon as he had moved out of his parents' house when he turned 18. He hasn't spoken to his parents since.
This troper's grandfather ocasionaly mentions wanting great-grandchildren. Three of my cousins are getting married this year, so he just might get what he wishes for.
According to this Troper's father the reason for this trope is revenge!
- Yes, it's so we go through the same hell we putt them through.
This troper's mother has been saying this for years. For some reaosn she doesn't seem to do it for this troper's brother, who while two years younger, actually has a chanse of getting a girlfriend.
Averted by my mother, who never pressured me for grandkids and accepted the news with aplomb that I scheduled a tubal ligation. Played straight by my father, who "warned" me when I was a teenager that I would never get a man, because all men want kids.
Averted by my mother, played straight with my paternal grandfather. Apparently it's because I'm one of three of his grandkids with the last name of Dio Dati. One other being my brother.
This troper's family, unfortunately, have dropped hints that they want grandkids. Unfortunately said troper, having seen firsthand the destruction a baby can bring about, is probably not going to have any in this life.
Averted and then Subverted in my case- my husband and I married in our late teens, and though I was baby-crazy neither my parents or his father pressued us about kids. Well, now 6 years later we have 2 kids, and still my parents expect more.
Extremely averted by This Troper's mother - she kinda arranged herself with one asexual and one gay child. Incidentally, she would probably be an awesome grandmother, considering how horrible a mother she was, but that's neither here nor there.
Fortunately all pressure is off me, at least for now, since my oldest brother has one and they're trying for another and two of my three step-sisters have kids.
This troper's GREAT-GRANDMOTHER has been haranguing him to have kids since he graduated from high school. Every time the great-grandmother brings it up, he keeps telling her up and down that he REFUSES to ever have kids, no matter how often she tells him he'll eventually change. He always insists otherwise, though—IF HE DOESN'T WANT KIDS, HE DOESN'T WANT KIDS!
This troper, at 32, is the oldest male in his family who is still childfree. His cousin Angie, at 34, is the oldest female. His mom and his uncle once said at a family reunion, "If you two won't find yourself good spouses, we'll have to lock you both in a room and kill two birds with one stone."
Wonderfully averted by this troper's mother and also by her in-laws, none of whom are especially interested in grandchildren. Troper's mother-in-law seems perfectly content to have two grand-cats. This may be more of a case of bowing to fate than expressing their true feelings, since Troper can't have children, but in any case she's grateful not to be harassed. The extended family, however, is another matter...
This troper's mom is like this—now my sister has two kids for my mom to dote on. She always jokes that I should have kids—but the thing is...I don't like children.
This troper's parents want grandchildren. The only children this troper wants are of the fuzzy meowing variety and of the ink-on-paper novel variety. She really hope that somehow it turns out she is infertile or something. Or that she ends up with a wife and not a husband.
This troper is 18, with a 45 year old half sister, a 40 year old half brother and a 31 year old half brother. Guess who keeps getting pestered for kids. This has been going on since she was about 12. Joke's on them though, after that first fun bit, the whole thing sounds painful and with many many chances to fuck it all up, so she's planning to pass.
This Troper got this response from her parents the last time she mentioned that she doesn't want to be a mum. (She responded by pointing out the continued existence of her brother.)
[[Shini This Troper]] 's Grandmother is rather old fashion and wants greatgrandkids, but I (said troper) do not have the temperment or the desire for children, and my parents are well aware their 'grandchildren' will have feathers or fur. But again, my Grandmother seem to soften up when my Oldest cousin went hardcore Mormon and wanted six childern, and got pregnant AGAIN about five months after the first kid ("I had four kids because of the lack of choice in my days, having that many and more is insane now")
This Troper is the oldest cousin on both sides of her family, with cousins ranging from age four to almost-so-close-why-is-the-primary-in-August-to-18 (which would be me). My parents and grandparents are very involved in the whole "disappearing Jews" problem (aided by the fact that—le gasp!—my cousins have a Gentile father), and there is now a betting pool for if I will get married before my youngest cousin's bat mitzvah. Needless to say, my grandparents and parents don't only want great/grand kids, oh no. There has to be three, their father has to be Jewish, I must live in Seattle, and it would be preferable that the father has the letters M and D tacked onto his name. This has gotten to the point that my mother and grandmother are trying to play matchmaker with my ex-boyfriends and fourth cousins. Even better? My mother recently informed me that if I ever get pregnant, we are keeping the baby, even if the father isn't Jewish, which (if you knew my mother) shows how desperate she is to have a grandchild.
This troper pulled an "I want nephews!"-variation with a friend and his girlfriend. Much hilarity ensued.
My mom was quite upset when she found out I planned to never marry in my life. This may have been amplified by the fact that I am the only child in my family. She seems to have accepted it, though.
This Troper told her cousins to: "Hurry up and get married, will you? I want nieces!! Or whatever your kids will be to me. And it's been so long since I've been to a wedding..."

And then, Karma came and bit me in the ass, as, a few weeks later, I found my parents, aunts, uncle, grandmother, neighbours, friends, and the taxi driver asking me when I'll be getting married!!! And no, to this, day, my parents are STILL going on about Grandkids, as well as my aunt, uncle, grandmother and neighbours! God!

This Troper is engaged to a twenty year woman who is either completely unable to have children, or at least way too small for a pregnancy to be safe. She has the body of a twelve year old due to hormonal deficiencies, and will not show her age until advanced aging sets in (wrinkles, greying hair, etc.) Some could argue she wouldn't survive a pregnancy. So it looks like adoption is our only course of option. (an option my fathers side of the family would detest, as being descended from Danish nobility.)
Averted so far, and this troper has dropped hints that he doesn't want kids in hope that this trope will stay averted.
Somewhat averted by my grandmother when she got grandkids. She stated that she was too young to be called 'grandma' and got us to call her by her childhood nickname.
Subverted with this troper's parents. When he told his mother he didn't plan on having kids, she thought it was stupid of him. However, it wasn't because she wanted grandchildren (this troper has two other brothers, so she could still get grandkids someday); it was because she thinks this troper needs kids so he'll have someone to take care of him when he's old. Yeah, like I'm going to deal with children for eighteen years and beyond just so I'll have my own personal slaves when I'm a feeble old man.
A rather tragic example: I knew a girl that got pregnant and her parents forced her to keep it. Never mind that this child was a product of rape, that she didn't want it, or that she was fourteen: her parents "wanted a grandchild" and didn't let her abort it or give it up for adoption.
This trope is one of the many reasons why this trope has not come out of the closet to his parents. They consider him to be one of the more responsible children they have and they keep bringing up how I'll change my mind and have some when I'm older.
Partially subverted by this troper's maternal grandmother. After my uncle had two kids, she was satisfied and would frequently comment that Mom would never get married and give Grandma more grandkids. When Mom did get married and gave her two more grandkids she was happy though. Not so much with her fifth grandchild (me) because that meant that Mom had more babies than she did. Dad's mother specifically wanted granddaughters. Mom and Dad got a pass on the first kid being a boy becuase he was her first grandchild period. The second and third time she was less then happy that we were also boys. When my oldest aunt had a daughter she was satisfied, and my youngest aunt wasn't bothered about the fact that she had two boys. Both were good grandmothers to all of the grandchildren though.

Now go back to the original page and find yourself a nice spouse—I Want Grandkids!

I Take Offense To That Last One

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