Another thing to consider in the OP's situation is that the caretaker of the friend was a grandparent. I was recently at the shore with my kids, my MIL, and 3 nieces/nephews, for whom MIL had primary responsibility on this trip. There were things I was comfortable letting all the kids (my 3 and my niece/nephews) that my MIL didn't allow the kids to do because, in her own words, she was more worried about what could happen to her grandkids than she would have been with her own kids, 30+ years ago. So just another thing to consider.
Lucy
