As a parent I was occasionally a naysayer. I’d veto ice-creams before breakfast. I had strong views about using crayons to draw rabbits on the living room wall. And I’d suggest that one game should be thoroughly packed away before another was opened.

Now, though, I’m a grandparent. Standards have fallen. The naysayer has become the yea-sayer.

Within half an hour of the grandchildren’s arrival, toys are spread over every surface of the house. A tricycle is being ridden at high speed up and down the corridor. A plastic chicken that squawks when squeezed has been enthusiastically pressed into service. An art project, involving glue, is under way on the couch. The dog’s water bowl has been upended. Soft toys lie scattered as if distributed by a hurricane.

The naysayer has become the yea-sayer.Credit: Getty Images

It is complete chaos. I’ve never been happier.

I now see the whole world through the lens of being a grandparent. A trip to the shops no longer involves just the supermarket, the butcher and the vegie shop. No, no, no. First I must dart into the two-dollar shop for craft supplies. Glittery pipe cleaners, coloured ice-cream sticks, plastic baubles with which to decorate those pipe cleaners, and double-sided tape that will prove crucial to the production of a........

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