If I Knew How Wonderful Grandparenting Was, I Would Have Done It First!
As a grandmother of 6 children from ages 6 to 13 years, I pondered this statement.
How is grandparenting different from parenting?
I loved the time I spent with my own kids. It certainly brought a lot of joys and rewards, but one can’t deny that it also had some challenging times. After all, as parents, my husband and I felt totally responsible for them in every way, just like our children feel now about their own children. Parents often run themselves ragged meeting all the schedules they set up for their children.
It is different with Grandparenting. We have the opportunity to widen their horizons, to expose them to various activities that perhaps their parents are not involved in. In our case, we can share our love of classical music, opera and sailing.
Not only can different activities be shared, but also a more relaxed attitude can be shown around the mistakes and difficult behaviours children often dish out. That combination of age and experience gives us the comfort to say, “This too will pass!”
Each grandparent can develop a certain special relationship with their grandchildren, which sometimes may be different from the one they have with their parents. The kids are smart enough to handle this. This doesn’t have to cause conflict, unless we feel the need to convince our grown children that our way is best! The parents’ position has to be respected, knowing that they also want the best for their children.
If our ideas of raising the grandkids are different from their own parents’, our major rule is: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!
It can be difficult but keeping a strong, cordial relationship with our children and their spouses is paramount.
So we can see our grandchildren more often because:
Grandparenting is great!
› Email Georgine@parentingnetwork.ca
Georgine Nash, Co-founder of Parenting Network.
Find out more about us at parentingnetwork.ca or browse our catalogue for available parenting courses in your area.
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