The Art Of Being A Good Grandparent: 7 Brilliant Ways They Make Their Grandkids' Lives Better
PeopleImages | Shutterstock There's an art to being a great grandparent. And thank goodness because playing a role in their grandkids' lives is wildly beneficial for grandparents' health.
The life lessons and love they offer are just as profound. No grandparent's perfect, but there are many ways excellent grandparents improve the lives of their children's kids.
How good grandparents make their grandkids' lives way better:
1. They always make time for bonding family traditions
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Family traditions are powerful, even if they seem like normal parts of the holidays. But grandparents keeping these rituals and traditions alive for their grandkids gives them a magical sense of belonging and shared identity.
These traditions are always something to look forward to, but they also ensure that kids feel connected to their family. Even once they've grown up and started their own lives, they'll still feel a connection to the quality family time that defined their childhoods.
2. They tell stories about their own life experiences
Storytelling shapes identity and gives people a sense of belonging with their families. It reminds them of who they are and what their family's been through. When grandparents tell stories to their grandkids, it can build stronger empathy as well.
Yes, they can entertain their grandkids, but a grandparent's stories tend to be important lessons, first and foremost. They're not just sharing wins, but talking about their own struggles. They're teaching their grandkids about resilience that they may not get at home.
3. They pass on the best parts of old-school life
From old-school manners to analog hobbies, grandparents are wonderful teachers for their grandkids. Instead of encouraging them to do things because it's easier, the best grandparents teach them about the difficult ways they learned life lessons.
Basic manners like saying "please" and "thank you" are slowly becoming less popular, but you can trust that amazing grandparents are still keeping these unspoken rules alive with their young grandkids.
4. They encourage unstructured play
Parents are often the people responsible for enforcing rules and providing discipline, but grandparents can offer fun and play without all that structure. The best grandparents do subscribe to whatever parenting style their own kids want, but that doesn't mean they can't still bring their own version of fun into the equation.
Even if it's just the benefits of unstructured play that they gave their own kids, the best grandparents offer opportunities for their grandkids to be creative and solve problems.
5. They drop casual wisdom in safe spaces
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Parents sometimes feel too anxious or overworked to slow down for a life lesson, but that's what the best grandparents are for. They make safe spaces in their homes to have wise conversations with their grandkids. They can tell stories and offer a new perspective.
Grandkids only know what it's like to be young, but grandparents know what it's like to be both young and old. It's their first time living, but they can learn a lot about aging and life experiences. Their grandkids may not always resonate with their advice or even listen, but their voice will still likely stick in their minds.
6. They make up for parenting regrets with their own kids
A parent watching their own parents embrace their grandchildren in a different way can spark healing for the entire family. The grandkids are being offered unconditional love, and their parents get a glimpse of that in ways that ease old wounds.
Trauma doesn't simply go away just because someone chooses a different path or changes as a grandparent. But these are the kinds of beautiful experiences that remind us all that people can change for the better, even after all this time.
7. They allow their grandkids to slow down in a busy, overstimulating world
A child's parents may still be working a lot and keeping up with a busy family schedule, but grandparents often provide space for more mindful quality time. Their lives are still busy, but they're far more likely to indulge in the mindfulness that we can all benefit from.
Slowing down supports grandparents, especially as time tends to move faster with age. Living more mindfully creates more meaningful moments with their grandkids, allowing them to enjoy life without feeling like they're missing anything.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
