Hillary Clinton’s Life as Grandma: Babysitting, Changing Diapers, Singing Songs

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is a proud grandmother, her daughter, Chelsea, says. (Photo: Splash News)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may be busy on the campaign trail, but she always makes time to spend with her granddaughter, Charlotte.

“My husband, Marc [Mezvinsky], and I were at a dinner for a friend who recently got a new job, and my dad was out with friends, so my mom babysat, which was really nice,” Chelsea tells People.

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The former secretary of state also taught the 11-month-old a few tricks, such as opening and closing her hands like twinkling stars every time she hears “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Says Chelsea, “It’s very sweet. She learned that from my mom.”

She also participates in renditions of “the most popular song in our house right now, ‘The Wheels on the Bus,’” to ease Charlotte’s teething pain, Chelsea says.

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“When Charlotte has challenges teething, ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ song can go on for hours. Like, everything gets on the bus — every animal from Old MacDonald’s farm gets on the bus, everybody we know gets on the bus, everybody in our family, all of our nieces and nephews and cousins, everybody and everything is on the bus,” Chelsea tells People. “So my mom is very sweet when she’s singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus.’”

Chelsea Clinton and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, with their newborn daughter, Charlotte. (Photo: Corbis)

Both Hillary and former President Bill Clinton even make up excuses to spend more time with their granddaughter.

“Truly, this has happened now a few times, where my parents were just like, ‘Oh, I’m in the neighborhood. Can I come by?’” says Chelsea, who is launching her first book, geared toward inspiring middle-schoolers, It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going! “And I’m like, ‘You weren’t in the neighborhood. There doesn’t need to be a pretense.’”

STORY: Inside Chelsea Clinton’s Life as a Mom

But Chelsea admits it’s “just a lot of fun” and “an unexpected joy in this process” to watch her parents get so involved with Charlotte, who turns 1 on Sept. 26.

“They are so interested in everything about her — getting to know her and being part of her life and part of her daily routine — so it’s not just checking in once in a while, but checking in every day to see how she’s doing. ‘What are her newest achievements? How’s she eating? How’s she sleeping? How many teeth does she have?’” Chelsea says.

Having a daughter has only deepened her relationship with her parents.

“I see my parents so much more now than I did before Charlotte, in the sweetest, most wonderful sense!” Chelsea told Yahoo Parenting in August. “I was very close to my grandmother, and I want Charlotte to have the same deep relationship with her grandparents. It has been an unexpected joy watching them read to her, sing to her, help put her to sleep, and even change her diapers. They clearly love her so much, and that only makes me love them more.”

Chelsea works hard to give her daughter a normal life, just like her parents tried to do with her, despite her moving into the White House when she was 12 years old.

“My parents made such a big effort to make my life growing up feel as normal as possible — we had dinner together every night they weren’t traveling — and to enable me to have and lead my own life,” she told Yahoo Parenting. “Marc and I are already having family dinners with Charlotte (even if we still are feeding her!) and we’ll remain focused on ensuring we’re rooted together as a family in the months and years ahead and that we protect her but also equip her to protect herself and make the right choices for herself when she’s older.”

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