6 grandparenting books not to miss!
At last, grandparenting has come into the limelight and with it has come many wonderful books to help us navigate the exciting grandparent journey. However, even with a digital magazine we are limited by space so this year we have boiled our list down to our top six selections. If you want to see more follow this link.
Grandmothering – The Secrets to Making a Difference While Having the Time of Your Life
Author: Linda Eyre Publisher: Deseret Book Company Create button: BUY
Grandmothers make the best cookies and give the best hugs, but there’s so much more to being the kind of grandmother who leaves a legacy that stands the test of time. New York Times #1 bestselling author and grandmother Linda Eyre shares her secret formula for teaching your grandchildren values, building meaningful connections with them, and giving them grit and resilience in an ever-changing world. Broken into short, digestible chapters for quick reading, this guidebook is filled with time-tested advice and stories from a panel of grandmothers, plus an appendix of easy, delicious recipes to feed a crowd at your next family reunion.
Unconditional Love – A Guide To Navigate the Joys and Challenges of Being a Grandparent Today
Author: Jane Isay Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Create button: Buy
What made Unconditional Love so unique and appealing to me was the last part of her book titled: “Growing Up. Growing Old.” It’s a hopeful message for grandparents of adolescent grandchildren about the pleasures and possibilities of a deeper relationship with an adult grandchild. The first part of the book offers sound advice on how to prepare for a new grandchild. Try to deal with old wounds and make peace. Become more accepting, take responsibility for any early negativity and develop patience and empathy for parents who are the busiest generation we’ve ever known. The second part of the book explains the intangible gifts we give our grandchildren. Isay calls them the four pillars of the moral imagination: empathy, perspective, knowledge, and agency. The third part of the book covers real issues and real solutions.
Being A Proactive Grandfather – How to Make a Difference
Author: Richard Eyre Publisher: Dereret Books Create Button: BUY
New York Times #1 bestselling author, Richard Eyre encourages grandfathers to ask themselves a very important question: what kind of grandfather will you be? Will you be a “disengaged grandfather,” who downsizes to an adults-only condo in Sun City by a golf course and rarely sees his grandkids? Will you be a “limited grandfather,” a “supportive grandfather,” or—best of all—will you be a “proactive grandfather”?
Only when we choose to be proactive does grandfathering become effective, consequential, and truly fun. At this level, you deliberately ponder the needs you can uniquely fulfill, and you set goals and plans to enhance your grandchildren’s lives (in concert and in teamwork with the goals and stewardship of their parents). This approach will stretch and test you, but it will also reward you with levels of fulfillment, well-being, love, and peace otherwise unobtainable.
The Grandfamily Guidebook: Wisdom and Support for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Authors: Andrew Adesman and Christine Adamec Publisher: Simon & Schuster
In The Grandfamily Guidebook—which leading medical experts have called a “must-have” resource for grandparents raising grandchildren—authors Andrew Adesman, MD, and Christine Adamec offer expert medical advice, helpful insights gleaned from other grandparents, and data mined from the 2016 Adesman Grandfamily Study—the broadest and most diverse research study of its kind to date. You’ll also find hands-on tips you’ll be able to reference whenever you need them, including how to cope with difficult birth parents, school issues and social-life challenges, problem behaviors that stem from a difficult past, and your own self-care.
Starting with its foreword by the renowned Dr. William Sears, across this book you will find practical, inspiring help as you navigate the financial impacts, legal considerations, and medical issues that commonly arise when grandparents and grandchildren start becoming a grandfamily.
Good to be Grand – Making the Most of Your Grandchild’s First Year
Author: Cheryl Harbour Publisher: BenBella Books
BUYGood to Be Grand is the ultimate roadmap for today’s grandparent, combining the latest information about infant care—from medical developments to equipment innovations to parenting practices—with honest, down-to-earth advice and anecdotes about grandparents’ special role.
Journalist and new grandmother Cheryl Harbour gets right to the point of what modern grandparents really need to know from the time they begin anticipating the birth to the end of the first year. Harbour takes the best and most relevant information from the latest research, expert interviews, and thick parenting books and tailors it specifically for grandparents, recognizing the unique bond they share with their children’s children.
Each chapter provides interesting facts and observations about what has remained the same and what has changed about childcare over the years, what you can do to support the physical and emotional well-being of your grandchild and, most important, what you can do to make the most of the experience.
The Grandparents Handbook – Games, Activities, Tips, How Tos and All-Around Fun
Author: Elizabeth LaBan with Nana Barbara Trostler and Grandpa Myron LaBan
Publisher: Penguin Random House Create Button: BUY
No longer content to sit on rockers and bake cookies, today’s grandparents are involved in the lives of their grandchildren more than ever before. The Grandparents Handbook features dozens of activities that will guarantee hours of fun, educational quality time-from building dollhouses and catching fish to flying kites, baking bread, making your own mini golf course, creating a family newspaper, and much more. These illustrated instructions will lead grandparents down surprising paths of discovery as they teach the youngest generation about family, friendship, and the world around them. It’s the perfect gift for any grandparent and grandparent-to-be!
ELIZABETH LABAN is a Philadelphia-based writer, editor, and mother of two. BARBARA TROSTLER is Elizabeth’s mother and the grandmother of two. She lives in Philadelphia, about four blocks from grandchildren Alice and Arthur. DR. MYRON LABAN is Elizabeth’s father-in-law and the grandfather of five. He hops on airplanes whenever he can to visit grandchildren Eli, Dahlia, Alice, Arthur, and Logan.