GRANDparenting
10 Ways to Be a Fabulous Grandparent
B
eing a knock-your-socks-off grandma or grandpa is fun, sure—but it also takes time and effort. Here’s how to be the best grandparent you can be.
Instead, turn the equation around and let your curiosity lead the way. Ask them about your grandchild’s likes and dislikes, latest accomplishments, and funny tricks. Tread lightly when asking about feeding, health issues, or sleep habits—you don’t want to be intrusive. Gentle, nonjudgmental inquiries show you care and allow you to support your child through any challenges.
Get silly
Ask rather than answer
Melanie Haiken is an award-winning health and wellness writer and editor. Reprinted with permission from babycenter.com. © BabyCenter LLC
24 GRAND
As a grandparent, you have years of parenting experience. You may feel like an expert and see your child—the new parent—as needing your guidance. But in that direction lies disaster. “Hard as it is, you have to realize it’s their turn to make parenting decisions. Grandparents shouldn’t get in the way,” says family therapist Sharon O’Neill. When you offer advice and opinions, no matter how well-meaning, you risk making already nervous new parents feel like you don’t trust them or respect their judgment, says O’Neill.
Grandparenting can mean all the fun of kids without all the responsibility. So enjoy it! Get down on the floor and play with your new grandbaby. Act out silly scenes with finger puppets, invent stories, and make faces. Save up jokes to tell older kids and watch funny movies together. Grandmother Sarah Williams made up a special language with her granddaughters when they were young, substituting words so no one else could understand what they were talking about. Now that the girls are older, they’ve started sharing funny video clips with her on Facebook. “It’s a hoot. My friends see these crazy things that Amelia and Lily post on my page and just laugh,” says Williams.
Beware grandparent rivalry
Avoid the trap of keeping up with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josie—this will only lead to hard feelings. “It’s inevitable that one set of grandparents is going to spend more time with the child than the others, but that doesn’t mean anything in terms of the closeness of the relationships,” says Amy Goyer, multigenerational famgrandmag.ca
