Effective grandparents represent one polarity on a spectrum of complex grandparenting behavior. On one end of the spectrum is the effective grandparent. The middle range encompasses the majority of functional
Biology, psychology and external family and social systems all affect grandparenting identity and activity. One biological event, the birth of a grandchild, initiates the basis of grandparenthood, the “grandparent drive.”
Grandparenthood and great-grandparenthood may be viewed as mature stages in a lifelong developmental process. Grandparents are formed by the interaction of many biological, psychological, interpersonal and social forces. These forces
Start before you grandchild is born by gardening your child’s marriage. Parents are the linchpin of the relationship between you and your grandchild: It’s important to support the couple from
Paying for college has never been easy, especially for families with competing financial goals. To further the challenges posed to parents, the cost of attending college is accelerating at astonishing
Everyone is different, and it is important than grandparents learn to understand the individual differences that can either be complementary, or cause friction between grasndparents and their loved ones. Personality
Parents Air Their Feelings, Offer and Request Advice and Enlighten Grandparents (Anonymity Preserved) Trouble With Grandparents I have been reading all the articles on your site. I’m horrified at the
How are today’s parents raising their children differently from the way grandparents raised them? Do you know what attachment parenting is? Do you think that children should sleep in their
Diplomacy My grandson spends summers in California with me. I had gained quite a bit of weight after taking some medication since he had last seen me. One day, he
In the past, the legal system defined a family as “intact” if both parents were married and living together. But can a family with no grandparental involvement truly be classified
One of your most important, and sacred, roles as a grandparent involves cultivating your grandchild’s spiritual development. This is the role of “spiritual guide,” A most powerful role that can
Long distance grandparenting is quite a challenge, but there is so much you can do to over-come the challenge. Today, millions of American families are separated by distances that are
What is “The Lacuna Effect?” According to the dictionary, a “lacuna” is a “hole,” a blank space or a missing part. How does this term apply to grandparent/parent relations? In
Laura and Paul Smith suffered two terrible losses in quick succession. For years, the Smith’s had lived down the street from their daughter, her husband and their children. They were
Nature sometimes creates a child in the image of one of their grandparents. The resemblance may be physical or temperamental. A grandchild can have a similar personality to a grandparent
Over the years, the Foundation for Grandparenting has received thousands of letters from parents asking for suggestions on ways to help foster a meaningful relationship—fostering the “Vital Connection” between their
Shocking but true. By the time your grandchild graduates from high school, they will have logged in 11,000 hours in school, but more than 15,000 hours watching TV and sitting
Grandparents often freely indulge their grandchildren. It seems that spoiling is just a built-in part of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. However, some parents complain they’re not treated as well by their
Since the dawn of the human species, grandparents were an integral part of the family system. One of their most important functions was caring for the young while parents were
No one reading this article will question that the life of a grandparent can have a profound influence on the life of a grandchild. But how does the death of