Grandparenting and Influencing Your Grandchildren During the Pandemic
Image by bjwebbiz
A grandparent is truly a special person. There's no doubt about that. A grandparent is defined as:
a parent of one's father or mother; a grandmother or grandfather
That's not even the depth of the definition of a grandparent.
As I sat here this morning thinking about the visit from my granddaughter over the weekend, I thought about a comment she made: "I hug you so tight because you're warm and your stomach is like a soft pillow."
Now, that wasn't me she was referring to in that last part.
Image by OpenClip-Art Vectors from Pixabay
But I could hear the love in her voice as the continued, "I'm never going to let you go." To that, I asked how was she going to go to school on Monday. She's at home in virtual learning, so her answer was that she'd just take PawPaw home with her. Well, I didn't tell her that she had my blessing on that thought!
Traditionally, grandparents filled a role in the offspring of their own children's lives. The roles were that of mentor, loving or playful companion, comforter, advisor, caretaker, provider of gifts and toys, secondary babysitter, transportation provider, supporter of extracurricular activities, and many others.
- Being Available for Them
One of the most important roles a grandparent play is that of availability. They have to "be there" for the grandchildren. Living nearby makes it easier than living out of state or elsewhere. I"m happy that our granddaughter is no farther than fifty miles away.
However, grandparents in this generation may be younger and some have careers and other activities. Fortunately, technology has helped solve the problem of "being there" as now you can interact virtually.
Being there and making time for grandchildren also give grandparents the opportunity to solidify a secure and positive relationship.
Image by CoxinPhotos from Pixabay
Due to the pandemic, many grandparents are required to be separated from grandchildren for the safety of the entire family. This is especially true if the grandparents have underlying conditions such as I do, and the children are required to attend in-person school.
The ability to be available to them may also be affected if the parents are still in the work environment and may be exposed to infection from COVID-19. I have encountered this safety precaution when my daughter was exposed to the virus from a co-worker. They couldn't visit until their self quarantine was lifted.
Even though the pandemic means they can't visit often, I talk to her daily about the need to protect herself from the virus and also her friends by wearing her mask.
- Influencing Them
The most influential person in a grandchild's life can be that of a grandparent. Studies have shown that as many as 9 out of 10 adult grandchildren felt that their grandparents did have an impact on their lives and influenced their beliefs, values, and some of their habits.1
This precious time with grandchildren is also perfect for nurturing their spiritual growth. Questions can be answered the grandchild might be confused about and want another perspective.
Imparting family values and family history can be impressed upon them during this time. I know I share all my research, photographs, and documents then explain what each mean in relation to her. We help her to create her own family tree from the information we've provided. That way, it'll be more likely to have an impression on her.
I also send her lessons about our family history. She has to answer them without help and return to me. She's so sweet.
Thanks,
@justclickindiva
Happy rest of the week everyone with whatever your endeavors.
SOURCES:
a) JustClickindiva's personalized PHC signature created by and purchased from PHC.
b) Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken by me with my (i) Samsung Galaxy 10" Tablet, (ii) Samsung Phone, & (iii) FUJI FinePix S3380 - 14 Mega Pixels Digital Camera
c) Purple Butterfly part of purchased set of Spiritual Clip Art for my Personal Use
d) Separator Lines Free ClipArt Belt from Public Domain Vectors & ShadedLine from ClipArt-Library
e) All Tribe logos used with permission of Tribe Discord Channel admins.
f) Video of The Terminal Discord created and donated by @sgt-dan to The Terminal Owners for its use. Permission granted by The Terminal admins to use herein.
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1Five Reasons Why Grandparents Are So Important. WilmingtonParent.com https://www.wilmingtonparent.com/family/five-reasons-why-grandparents-are-so-important/
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Grandparents are very special ... Thank you for this write up. It actually reminded me on the cozy Sunday mornings when I visited my grandparents. Our grandma always made a cup of soup for us with her own special recipe, we loved it ... she told my sister and me that we got that because we were so special. We thought we were the only grandchildren who had the honor of that, it was not until years later after they both passed away that we found out ALL her 19 grandchildren had the same honor. And none of us had known it ... It was funny to find out, and made it clear for all of us how much they both had loved us for all those years.
Wishing you a great day, stay safe and I hope you can enjoy your granddaughter soon again.
Wow, such beautiful memories of grandma and grandpa. Both mine were gone at an early age for me.
So very true @justclickindiva ,and this pandemic can take away so much between the grandchild and the grandparent. Thank you for sharing and reinforcing what is so important in a healthy family relationship.
You're welcome. It's been hard on everyone during this pandemic to maintain relationships. It almost made me cry when she said she wanted to take PawPaw home with her. I hope we can get past this pandemic soon if everyone cooperates. Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely rest of your week.
Very true, @justclickindiva. I have many wonderful memories with my grandparents, and every now and then I remember them. Your article just brought back some... so thank you for the memories!
Have a lovely day, my friend, and take care 🥰🌺🤙
You're welcome. As I told someone else, I was sad when she said she wanted to take grandpa home with her. Hope you have a good rest of your day and week. Take care and stay safe.
Oh, what a wonderful post! I love that many of us are talking about being grandparents. It helps to know we are all on this together.
With the pandemic, we do a lot of FaceTime videos, write letters, and play games online together. It was so awesome that my son found a website that all of us were able to play "D&D" together as a family. So miss doing it in person, but we are still together.
That is so neat to find a site where all can play a game together. Now I hear about Roadblocks and TicToc. Yes, as long as you can connect is the key. Thanks for sharing how you're accomplishing grand parenting during this pandemic.
That was such a heartwarming story! In my family we had three sets of grandparents, and a set of great-grandparents. In my lifetime, my parents have introduced many grandparents into our lives, that really weren't even related to us but we refer to them as grandma and grandpa, probably because of their age. I have to say that they were a big part of our lives and or the really really loved because they treated us just like their own.
One set of our grandparents were kind of indifferent because they had 32 grandchildren and the other lived out of state. I never felt not loved by the other because we had a relationship with her, but I can tell you that the ones that taught me the most and probably did the most with me we're not even related to me oh, so in some cases it's not the relation but the relationship.
I love that you are so awesome with your grandchildren!
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Thank you so much for your especially kind words. I didn't get a chance to have bona fide relationship with my grandparents. The stories I've heard so far from you Ladies of Hive have just warmed my heart to hear.
And you are correct in one thing. The people who were older who had an impact on my life were the ones not even related to me. That's because back then, the entire community where we lived raised all the neighborhood children.
Thanks for sharing your grandparent experience.
Exactly!!!!
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I had amazing grandparents and yes I spent a lot of time with them throughout my childhood. I learned things from both of them. I was babysitting some great nieces and they were like granddaughters to me. They moved away with their mom, my niece,and I don't get to see them anymore. They were 3 and 4 years old when they moved about 1.5 years ago. It made me sad! I really enjoyed being around them and being a part of their lives.My daughter is married - just 5 months ago and is waiting to have children for a few years. I hope to be a grandmother someday! I loved your post!
Hello. Nice to meet you. First I'd like to thank you for deciding to Follow my journey on Hive. I appreciate it. What an awesome story of your childhood. You are so luck to have been able to spend lots of time with your grandparents.
You will become a grandmother and will display the same virtues are you experienced. Even more!
Thank you for sharing your story.
Being a parent and seeing my kids and their grandpa’s and OMI’s is so great and you have your princess coming to visit. So make memories and life lessons
One grandma to another (I'm Oma): thank you!
My husband and I played a large part in my granddaughter's life...Less now, because she'll be turning 16 soon, and COVID does divide us. However, when she was in nursery school we stopped by one day. She was so impressed with the visit she announced to all,"Oma and Opa are here", as though we were personages to be universally recognized. It was the cutest thing and a very heartwarming moment.
Grandmother--all the joy of being a mother, with a lot less work :)
I understand Oma. That was so cute. I understand how some grandparents have to play more of a role almost like parents if helping their children out financially, or if other issues are involved.
Getting ready to set up online computer access for virtually learning. Got to get up at 6:30am to start breakfast. Then take a rest to prepare lunch a few hours later. Then start on dinner after online session over. I did this 30 years ago. Whew...
Nana and PawPaw over and out here. Engage later. Hopefully sometimes this week, lol.
Oh my, so busy. I'm retired :)
I wish I could see my grandparents.
Mine passed away many years ago.
Same here ,before my birth.
Grandparents are the best !
I was really close to some of mine and those relationships were true treasures to my heart.