I am sure we were all little brats at one time or another.. As for the boy and his late potty training.. Well I had a step daughter who had the same problem .. come to find out (they had a big name for it) it was a Psychological issue where the child feared from losing a part of their body. Or something like that. I got her to stop by rewarding her with a puppy, didn't take long. It just might not be the parents ya know !!

Now go take you grandkids and have a blast.. while you still can, and they are still willing to go. It won't be long before they won't have the time for you.

Are we talking about enuresis with the little boy. This is not necessarily a lack of toilet training, but can result from physical or mental conditions which are highly treatable. If this is the only problem the boy has, it might due him some good to get away from the mother, father AND sister, perhaps for one night at a time. Maybe the OP can separate the two and achieve some good for the whole family (ever hear of Pull-Ups?). You never can tell, the girl might not be as difficult without her brother there. But - again - short trips, inexpensive cameras and, with either child, GrandPa AND Grandma along.

Dear JC56,
You have had to listen to a lot of kick-back, some of it not very nice. 7-year-old girls are often a bit bossy and full of themselves as they find their place in the world and among their peers. You have thought of something really worthwhile to share with them. Two Christmases ago, I gave my 6-year-old granddaughter a camera because she was spending the holiday in Belize. She was delighted with the gift. I didn't spend a lot - it was a simple auto point and shoot which is really all kids need at that age. I bought one for her older sister as well. They looked the same although the older one got a "better" camera because I knew she could handle it. Just get 2 different colours so they know who's is who's.

Children usually behave much better with their grandparents than they do at home so the trick is to sit them down at gift opening time and explain that you have entrusted them with something valuable and that you expect them to treat the gift with respect. The fact that you are a photographer will probably inspire them into thinking the whole plan is cool. Then, when you go on the trip, you can show them a few simple tricks to getting good shots. If you're overnighting, you could take along a laptop and download the kids' photos in the evening. That would be really cool as well.

So, go for it. I bet you'll all have a great time.