Being a Grandparent

A number of studies have shown that children who spend considerable time with their grandparents have healthy self-esteem and do well in social situations. They provide unconditional love and complete acceptance.

Parents also have vital allies in the child-rearing process, in their own parents. Baby-sitter, bragger and someone to preserve family traditions and history, grandparents are unheralded but vital in the parenting process.

 Finding your role

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to being a grandparent. Unlike parenting, your role is undefined.
 

Here are some common grandparenting types. What type are you?

 

Surrogate parent raising your children’s children either full-time or part-time. You have to be the disciplinarian and do much of the hard child-rearing work that parents traditionally do.

Spoiler grandparent who has all the fun and little of the responsibility that comes with being a parent. You get take your grandkids on great trips, and look after them overnight but enjoy the luxury of handing them back to their parents.

Working grandparent who still has a busy schedule but enjoys making time for your grandkids. You’d love to have your grandkids over more, but your life is busy and you have to fit kids around your schedule.

Globetrotting grandparent  who is either on a trip or busy planning your next trip around Australia or overseas. Skype, Facebook and Facetime are your best communication friends.

Forever young grandparent who just loves to keep up with what’s happening in your grandchildren’s lives, using Facebook or any other way that will keep you up-to-date.

The concept of grandparenting is constantly being reinvented to fit the changing circumstances of your life and your family.

Whatever grandparent type you are, you’re very special in your grandchildren’s eyes. And children are extremely lucky to have grandparents who are close, loving and understanding.

Things have changed since you were a parent

There’s no doubt kids are very different today than they were even ten years ago. They are a little more indulged and can have a sense of entitlement that wasn’t common in past generations.

Child-rearing, discipline and schools have also changed dramatically as well, which can leave you scratching your head at times. The developmental stages of childhood and adolescence are constantly being blurred, so your grandkids tend to grow up quicker than kids of past generations.

There are 3 ways to stay up to date as a grandparent