Grandparents? They are sacred to children! Regardless of their relationship with their parents or their partner’s parents, they play an essential role in a child’s life.

Quality Time

The advantage of grandparents is that they are often (almost) retired. So, they have plenty of time to spend with their grandchildren. So, when the apple of their eye arrives, they put everything aside, so they don’t have to cook, bathe, do laundry, or run around all day. In this way, they take full advantage of your child’s presence. Fathers and mothers may also be surprised to see how much fun they have with their children when they used to have no time for them. This is what is called making up for the lost time.

A Listening Ear

Children don’t always confide in their parents right away. Some of them can only tell their grandmothers or grandfathers. A good relationship with grandparents is obviously essential. This increases the child’s trust in your grandparents and gives him/her the confidence that the secret will be kept.

Grandparents Make Children Happy

Children who grow up close to their grandparents have a strong emotional connection and are less likely to develop depression as adults. According to a study conducted by the University of Oxford, which involved 374 grandparents and 356 adult grandchildren, not only were children who grew up close to their grandparents less likely to develop depression as adults, but grandparents who had more emotional contact with their grandchildren were generally happier as well.

Rule: Your Relationship With Your Child’s Grandparents Is Also Important

Grandparents’ role as parents is not the same as yours. Grandparents are quick to overlook something and often allow a little more. However, grandparents also need to impose clear rules on your children! This way, you can ensure a clear, unified education for your children, no matter where your little treasures are.

Allow grandparents the freedom to form their own roles. Perhaps they don’t always do what you do, but they let their children sleep late, eat sweets, or walk around all day in their pyjamas. Make sure that these concessions will not affect their upbringing. There is no need to worry as long as the most important rules are followed and your child is not in danger.

Increase Their Knowledge

A close relationship between grandchildren and grandparents can lead to greater knowledge on both sides. Grandparents, of course, can teach life lessons to their children. They can also pass on cultural and social history.

On the other hand, grandparents can learn a lot from their grandchildren. For instance, children can teach their grandparents the latest trends and technologies.

Experience and Good Advice

Grandparents are the “elders” of the family. They protect their children and grandchildren, offer sound advice, and provide financial and emotional help. They also like to retell their family history. It is sometimes said that knowing where you come from is the best way to know where you are going. So, children can go a long way with stories about their grandmother and grandfather! Learning one’s family history also shapes one’s personality. Children listen carefully to childhood stories, youth, passion, and life’s difficulties.

Thus, when grandchildren spend time with their grandparents, they receive two valuable gifts. The two gifts they appreciate the most, the gifts that encourage them to grow: attention and time. Children are also at ease. They listen, look forward to it. They get to play with people who love them and who they love back. At the same time, they develop values, such as respect.

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