March 20, 2017
I stay inspired to write on the subject of Grandparents Rights every time I look at my Grandangel’s picture. If you are suffering alienation from your grandkids my heart goes out to you. You all know by now that I advocate doing all you can before you choose the legal avenue. If legal action is the only way then you can arm yourself with several things that are helpful in court. In all I read about Grandparents Visitation rights cases […]
March 17, 2017
I get how complicated life can be. The fact that Grandparents rights even need to exist is troublesome. As I get older I have a better vantage point to see both sides of things. I admit to being Pollyannic but that doesn’t change the reality of what is going on in family life today. I recognize that there are bad actors on both sides of family dysfunction. One of the reasons I took a sabbatical from writing in this space […]
March 11, 2017
HAPPY TIME! A couple of years ago I did several posts on Senator John East’s attempt to write Grandparents Rights into a federal law to help unify and clarify what is now a very scattered and lacking patchwork of State laws. This committee process was long and detailed which just pointed out the fact that this is, admittedly, a difficult subject. While it may be difficult it is no less important. I am hard pressed to find anything more […]
March 8, 2017
THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE Being estranged from a Grandchild is an arrow to the heart. We will do anything to re-establish that connection. From the extreme of legally asserting our Grandparents Rights if possible, to, let’s face it, BEGGING. No matter where you are on this continuum it is important that you retreat to your Caring Grandparent place and make a strategic plan before you do anything. Without such a plan we are often tempted to […]
March 5, 2017
When we have the ear of our grandchildren we should have considered how to best communicate with them. This is one area where intention is not enough. The greatest thing humans have to offer another person is our time and attention. This is especially true of these little humans we call grandkids. It will serve us well to consider several things first. Age Appropriateness; Many things I have read divide the ages as follows; 0-5 years, 5-10 years, 11-17 […]
March 1, 2017
The Loving support for a child is magnified when it comes from Grandma and/or Grandpa. Most kids can count on their parents loving them and lots of them know their Grandparents love them as well. The magic is when they are made to feel special by your showing up at things like plays and sporting events. We all crave love and approval and in the case of our grandkids they are like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to taking […]
February 24, 2017
Whenever I am called on to explain why Grandparents Rights is such a tough subject I find myself deflecting the question. The answer(s) are many and very complicated. A lot of why it is hard is that we all start too late. Most Grandparents wait til there is family unit stability trouble on the horizon to start worrying about the potential that they may not see as much of their grands as they wish. In some cases it is whether […]
February 21, 2017
It is easy to forget the rules of good human relations when we are talking to our Grandkids. One of the tenants of my Dale Carnegie training is that we should speak in terms of the others interests. This is especially true when it comes to our beloved grands. We tend to miss the part about them growing up. As you know it doesn’t serve us well to talk to an eight year old boy the same way we might […]
February 20, 2017
BLISS If you are the Paternal Grandparents of a family that is experiencing difficulties you are much more vulnerable to troubled waters when it comes to spending time with your Grandkids. The reasons for this are many and very complicated but the facts still remain the same. Let’s first consider that the courts, whenever possible, will honor the wishes of the parents. The greatest weight of this is given to the mother unless circumstances dictate differently. The adage about […]