You better not shout, you better not cry — because Marie, an 85-year-old grandmother of seven, doesn’t want to hear it.
Especially not from her grandkids on Christmas.
“They come to my house bicker and argue, mess up my house,” Marie, from Sunset Park, told The Post. “They come here and freeload.” She chose not to disclose her last name for privacy purposes.
“It’s Christmas and I gotta do all the cooking,” added the Brooklynite, who gripes about being a grouchy octogenarian as TikTok’s “Bad Granny.”
“Somebody’s vegan, somebody’s lactose intolerant, someone doesn’t eat beef, the other one doesn’t eat chicken,” she groaned. “I can’t take it anymore.”
And the no-nonsense nana isn’t the only one bracing herself for the Yultide tiredness.
Grammies and Pop-Pops across the globe are grappling with “grandparent burnout.”
The affliction, much like it does in overtaxed moms and dads, manifests in seniors as a wave of exhaustion from the stress that comes with looking after kids — even during the most wonderful time of the year.
“Caring for young children is challenging, particularly for older adults with limited reserves of strength,” noted study authors from Finland’s University of Turku, in part. “Active grandparenting could overburden older adults and lead to grandparents’ decreased health and well-being.”
But it’s not that Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, folks over age 45, aren’t fond of their children’s little ones — from the tots to tweens to teens and beyond.
Marie tells The Post she loves her lot to pieces.
Instead, most pensioners feel as though they’ve already “paid their dues” while parenting in their prime. And now, they prefer enjoying the fruits of rest and retirement rather than becoming built-in babysitters.
To strike a healthy balance, Katie Peterson has set a once-weekly limit on spending time with her two-year-old granddaughter, Sage.
“I have a life outside of grandparenting,” said the 52-year-old, a married mother of two adult sons, from Oklahoma City.
A full-time lifestyle influencer, Peterson sent social media spiraling in November after confessing her disinterest in being around sweet Sage all of the time, telling TikTok she’d already, “been there, done that.”
“My husband and I travel, we have friends, we like going out to dinner,” she continued, adding, however, that her Wednesdays are strictly dedicated to Sage.
During their midweek hangout the grandmother, affectionally known as “KiKi,” treats the toddler, who’s now prone to throwing temper tantrums, to trips to playgrounds and parks.
“My granddaughter is a very busy two-year-old,” said Peterson. “It’s tiring.”
And when it comes to spending time with the tyke on Christmas, the Xer’s sentiments are the same.
“I told my son and daughter-in-law what my plans are,“ said Peterson, who’ll be hosting most of her immediate and extended family on Dec. 25. “I don’t put any pressure on them to come over [with my granddaughter].”
But the smiley cherub and her parents will be at grandma’s on the holiday, chowing good eats and opening up presents — which is more than Tammie Kelton grandkids can expect.
“I don’t buy Christmas gifts for my grandchildren,” Kelton, 50, a grandmother of four from Ohio, tells The Post. “These kids have everything. They don’t need more plastic junk.”
Rather than spoiling her crew — youngsters ranging in age from nine to 11 months old — with a bunch of glossy goodies underneath the tree, Kelton deposits $100 into special bank accounts for each kiddo.
But grandma’s generosity comes with stringent stipulations.
“This isn’t money for a wedding or a car,” insisted Kelton, a nurse practitioner, who’s proudly crowned herself “Scrooge” on social media. “It’s only for college or a down payment on a home or their retirement.”
But unimpressed merrymakers online routinely blast Kelton for the bah-humbug behavior, calling her “cheap” and “mean.”
“One person wrote, ‘Cool. So, you hate your grandkid,’” she recalled with a cackle.
“My grandchildren might not like it now, or when they’re 16 and want cars,” said Kelton, whose grand-brood doesn’t quite understand why she never showers them with must-haves from their wish lists.
“But there are more important things in life than Christmas gifts.”
