While having children is great, many people feel that having grandchildren is even better. And although some people are natural grandparents and are able to develop great relationships with their grandkids, others might need a little help in this department.
If you wish that your children had a better relationship with your parents, here are three tips for including grandparents into your children’s lives.
Become Pen Pals
Whether you live close or far away from your children’s grandparents, Dr. Steven Dowshen, a contributor to KidsHealth.org, suggests that you help your children and their grandparents become pen pals. Both sides would love getting little surprises in the mail from the other, and this can be a great way for your kids to keep in touch with their grandparents even without seeing them.
Especially during the current pandemic, becoming pen pals may be the only way that your kids can interact with grandparents living in assisted living facilities. Because of this, becoming pen pals could be a great way to keep spirits up on both ends when seeing each other in person isn’t a safe possibility. And to make these letters in the mail even more meaningful, you could have your children include drawings or other little art projects or trinkets that their grandparents can keep to remember them by—and encourage the grandparents to do the same.
Give Grandparents Regular Updates
When your children are little, or even as they get older, it might not be easy or natural for them to get in touch with their grandparents on their own. Knowing this, you may want to take a more active role in facilitating the sharing of information.
One way this can be done, according to Dr. Susan Newman, a contributor to NewsForParents.org, is for you to give the grandparents regular updates about your kids. If your children start a new hobby or have something exciting happen in their lives, share this information with your parents so that when they next get in contact with your kids, they will have a better understanding of your children and will have something that they can ask your kids about to get the ball rolling on conversation.
Choose Something Special To Share
For some people, what really solidifies a bond is doing an activity together. This can be especially true for grandparents and their grandchildren.
With this in mind, Esther Leung, a contributor to FriendshipCircle.org, recommends that you brainstorm with your kids and your parents about an activity or hobby that they could start doing together. This could be as simple as playing a specific game whenever they’re together or trying new foods.
If you want to help your parents be more involved in your children’s lives, consider using the tips mentioned above to help everyone feel more included.
