GRANDCHILDREN

Summer is here and the grandchildren are coming to town! Carpe’ diem!

Grandparents, here is your great opportunity to spend time with your grandchildren and influence their futures. They actually want to hear your stories - even the ones you have told them before. You know, the ones about when their Dad or Mom was their age. And the stories of when you were young.

Grandparents are the family storytellers - the family historians. They connect the generations and provide a sense of roots for the young. Learning the family’s story helps young folk have a sense of belonging in a society that is pretty much rootless and cut adrift. People who have no sense from whence they have come do not do well when they venture out.

I have observed grandparents over a couple of decades. Here are some tips I have gleaned from some of my more outstanding examples:

Focus on making sure that your grandchild has a good time when he/she is at your home. Plan things for them to do and get your story telling in while you are "on the way" to some adventure. Children are not likely to want to just sit around. Minimize the time spent watching television. In stead of watching television, play board games or look at pictures of when your children (their parents) were their age, or get out their parents’ wedding pictures. Pictures provide a great prop for telling the family’s story.

Outstanding grandparents that I have observed did not seem to have a lot of rules. Their grandchildren seemed to be well behaved, but they did not seem to be concerned with keeping rules. I like the idea of having only one rule: "Do right!" And say to your grandchild, "If you are not sure what "right" is, talk to me and we will figure it out together."

Grandparents who are a "shoo in" for the Grandparent Hall of Fame are all "good finders." They are able to find the good in their grandchildren and they highlight it and call attention to it. These grandparents know that they are not likely to correct their children’s parenting failures such as teaching manners or getting their grandchildren on a healthy diet, so, rather than focusing on faults and trying to correct them, these people focus on the good and try to strengthen it.

Think about it. Your grandchildren are likely to have had some tough times in school/daycare this past year. They may need a safe, comfortable place for their emotions to heal. They may need to have someone believe in them and put their arms around them and say, "You are going to be okay. Next year will be better." God has tailor made grandparents for this assignment.

Grandchildren are coming to town! Don’t blow this opportunity! Carpe’ diem!