The Joy and Wisdom of Grandparenting
Some stress slides right off your back. Other stress sticks around like glitter after a craft project. You think you’ve moved on, but your jaw is tight, your patience is gone, and suddenly a missing sock feels like a personal attack. Emotional buildup is common, especially when life gets busy, and you keep powering through. … Read more
Coping with the loss of a grandparent means allowing grief to be real, accepting support, protecting daily routines, and finding meaningful ways to carry the relationship forward. A grandparent may be a caregiver, mentor, family historian, or source of stability. Their death can therefore feel like more than the loss of one person. It may … Read more
As a grandparent, you offer love, support, and wisdom. When your family faces a crisis, especially the profound loss of a loved one, your role becomes even more important. Helping your children and grandchildren through a tragedy is a delicate task that takes immense strength and compassion. You often become a source of stability when … Read more
Losing a grandparent suddenly is a deep shock that affects every family member. Grandparents often hold family history, offer unconditional love, and keep traditions alive. When their life ends unexpectedly, it leaves a huge gap, creating complicated grief and practical problems for those left behind. Coping With Sudden Loss Right after a sudden loss, everything … Read more
Loss already knocks the wind out of people on its own, and then real life has to keep going anyway. Honestly, that’s probably one of the cruelest parts of it. Someone dies, maybe after an accident, maybe because of medical neglect, maybe because of something as upsetting as nursing home abuse, and while everybody’s still … Read more
Longdistance Grandparenting: When Grandparenting Comes with Grief and Miles BY KERRY BYRNE, PH.D. After hearing from thousands of long-distance grandparents over the last several years, I’ve come to understand how deeply they love – and how hard they work to nurture bonds with their grandchildren. They love fiercely, even from afar. They show up with … Read more
When you’ve lived a long life, you end up knowing a lot of people. Friends, family, neighbors you waved to every morning for twenty years, people from church, folks you worked with when you were younger. Over time, the list of those you’ve lost grows longer. But even with all that, even with the years … Read more
Losing a loved one is never an easy experience. When you’re in a close relationship with someone, letting them go is challenging. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make the grief easier. No, they’re not always straightforward and require you to put in emotional work, but they are options you can explore. Here’s … Read more
A Grandchild’s Grief: When Grandparents Die No one reading this article will question that a grandparent’s life can profoundly influence a grandchild’s life. But how does the death of a grandparent affect a grandchild? According to Brian Yates, Ph.D. of American University, the death of a grandparent can have profound ramifications for a grandchild. In … Read more
Legacy: What you may find in the empty chair BY JERRY WITKOVSKY The place next to me is empty. The passenger seat in the car. The chair at the kitchen table. The place next to me in bed. Margaret, my wife for 52 years, was always there, through the rough times and good times. We … Read more
First Thanksgiving holiday without Grandpa BY ROSE PADRICK I was so concerned our first-holiday dinner without their grandfather would be hard on my grandchildren that I considered canceling the whole thing or going to a restaurant. But after careful consideration, I realized his passing was a fact of life that couldn’t be changed and ignoring … Read more
Should children attend a grandparent’s funeral? BY KAREN L. RANCOURT A young dad recently wanted my advice whether his six-year-old daughter should attend his mother’s funeral. I offered him four main considerations. Some parents of young children do not want their young children to attend a funeral because the service is highly ritualized and has … Read more
Tips for talking about grief with children BY PAT HANSON, PHD Grief is something we all need to address at some point in our lives. This keen sense of mental suffering over an affliction or loss is part of the healing process and part of life. For many of us it is difficult to acknowledge. … Read more
Grandpa Is The Problem BY MARY JANE HURLEY BRANT I’m blessed to be called Grandma by three beautiful grandchildren. It’s a mighty title of distinction. Seriously, these kids have validated the reason I believe in all things funny. They are also my greatest excuse to act out. In their presence – especially after one glass … Read more
