I am a FTM, my 13mo velcro baby was never good with strangers. She was aware very early on and as soon as she was 5mo or so she had stranger danger. When in the stroller for example she would cry when someone said hi to her.
However it is taking time for her to become "close" to her grandparents. My parents have seen her a lot since birth, maybe 1-2x a week. My dad would always try to hold and play with her when she was younger and she wasn't having her separation anxiety. She is comfortable with my parents the most after my husband and I (she is very attached to her dad thankfully), but even then often doesn't want them to hold her or play with her, and will cry for me. The most success is at my parents house. I can sometimes leave her in the playroom with my dad and my mom and I will chat elsewhere in the house.
With my in laws it's worse because while she sees them regularly, it isn't as often. They left on a 2 mo trip and of course that is very long for my daughter, so despite almost weekly visits before the trip we are starting from scratch now. I want my daughter to have a good relationship with her grandparents but it's been slow. I know she is still very young and her temperament is also a factor, but i guess i imagined at this age i would be able to leave her with either set of grandparents and not think twice about it.
When did you feel your kids felt close and safe with their grandparents?