My nephew is going to be 9 and he has had a tough year. We lost my Dad this year and a few months before that his baby brother had a stroke (at 6 months old). His life has pretty much turned upside down and he has started acting out at school and just not his usual self.

I am not there for the holidays and my MOm and I talked about her doing something special for him since she lives close, but I feel so bad for him. He gets no attention from my sister, he's getting in trouble at school which I assume is acting out because of the situation at home.



I still needed something else for him for Christmas but I wanted something special. Does anyone have any good ideas?

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

What are his interests? Maybe you can get tickets for a show or event that he could attend that would make a special day for him.

I'm sorry to hear of the difficult year they have had. Poor little ones.

How about a gift card to a place that he really likes? Maybe Chuck E. Cheese, an arcade place, skateboard park, etc. Include with it a note that just he and Grandma or some other adult will spend the afternoon together; no interruptions and nobody else on the trip.

I do these "Mommy and Me" days with my kids once in a while (they're 5 & 8) and they love it. They get my full, undivided attention.

Good luck. He's lucky to have an aunt that not only noticed what's going on, but willing to do something about it. Kudos to you for caring so much.

flipper~ I have to echo Deerekid and momshops I Would get tickets or a Gift Card for something special for him and Just Grandma to do.

You are an AWESOME Aunt to see what is going on and caring so much.

Also dont know what the age requirements are but Maybe getting him into the Big Brothers/Little Brothers Program would help, he would have a male figure to go out and hange with and talk about things since Mom has her hands full with the babys health problems it could be a very good experience for him.

Thanks you for caring like you do he has a terific Aunt.

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~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

I agree -- get him some kind of gfit card so he could have a day of undivided attention with Grandma. Maybe something like the moview, arcade, bowling, putt putt, laser tag, rock wall, his favorite restaurant, ice cream, sprting event, etc. It really depends on his interest.

Or, depending on the situation and if your mom is able, maybe she could take the baby for the day so your nephew and his mom could have some fun together.

Does he live close enough to you that he could come and spend a day or weekend -- maybe just a change of 'scenery' would do him good.

Sarah........mom to Jason & Devin

If you live far away maybe sending him some funny greeting cards with a message saying you care would brighten his day. There are lots of funny cards out there and getting one once a week would probably make him smile!

Thanks for the great ideas everyone! I think I inspired my mom to help out a little more and at least give him someone to talk to. Maybe I will see what DH thinks about us going up there for a few days over the holiday vacation.

He is a homebody and he won't even stayover at my Mom's and she lives 5 minutes from my sister. I would love to have him here for a week or so, but he would never come.

My sister is having a really hard time, she can NOT handle stress and everything has been thrown at her this year, plus a promotion (she works at Statestreet, so a high stress job too). She has started drinking more and that bothers me because both of our parents were alcoholics.

The younger son who had the stroke is such a handful! They let him get away with EVERYTHING and I think the older son is seeing how well that works so he's giving it a try, kwim? It's not the stroke that gives them trouble, but he does have more Dr appointments than usua; kids his age, but he is out of control, he runs that house. I have no idea what my BIL does, I never hear anything about him and he's home all winter because he has his own landscaping business.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer