Some grandparents aren’t fully engaged with their grandkids because they’re held back by two life-stage barriers.
Connecting hearts,
Uniting generations
At the National Association for Grandparenting, we seek to validate and empower grandparents as they bond with future generations in meaningful ways and leave a lasting positive legacy.
Raising Grandchildren
This is a salute to a special kind of grandparent. Recent research shows that the number of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren full-time is rapidly rising. Some 2.7 million grandparents are serving as primary caregivers for grandchildren under 18 years...
Grandparent Involvement: Extending the Benefits
One granddad told me that he and his wife intentionally make their time with the grandkids also a benefit to their parents’ marriages.
Exercising Self-Control with Adolescent Grandchildren
Even grandparents who do a great job through the first dozen years can hit a snag when it comes to dealing with teenagers. I have a friend named Martin who knows what makes an effective grandparent. I've watched him go through the early stages of grandparenting with...
The Days of Small Beginnings for Grandparents
All the great men and women of the world have one thing in common-they were all once in first grade. There's nothing more gratifying than watching a future Olympic gold medal swimmer make his first attempt at dog-paddling, seeing a future Rhodes scholar off for her...
Belayers for Exploring Children
Grandparent, are you manning the ropes for your kids? As you cheer their climb, are you also prepared for them to fall? Mountain climbing provides a great analogy for that stage of life when our kids begin to explore the world. From the grade-school years through to...
Asking Grandchildren Questions Is an Art
"How was school?" "Fine." Surely there's a way to have better conversations with our kids. Do you want to pass your values on to your grandchildren? Do you want to talk about what's truly important? One of those tricks is the ability to draw out your kids, to relate...
The Essentials of a Positive Legacy
As we think about our “legacy,” we should be focusing not only on physical property but also on shared values, worldviews, and family experiences. We should devote more of our attention to transmitting our heritage than leaving an inheritance.
When Granddad is Also Fill-In Father Figure
by James Myers: I love being a grandparent, and I know I am not alone in that. I have three grandchildren, and they are all special and unique. But my role for one of my grandkids is now different from the typical grandparent.
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