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 years and 17 and older. While this is a rough idea at least it gets us to thinking about meeting our Grands where they are. As a parent you have raised these kids. As a Grandparent you may only see them from time to time. It seems simple but I sometimes experience long silences on the phone with my somewhat shy 8 year old grandson. I know then that I have asked a question that he doesn’t understand so it is incumbent on me to keep the flow going. This is just one of the Dale Carnegie principles revisited. Speak in terms of the listeners interest. My solution with him is to ask about the latest video game and his best scores. Now we are off to the races.
I remember a conversation with my then 14 year old step granddaughter that I hadn’t seen in almost a year. After several starts and stops we hit on what kind of books she liked to read. We went off into the land of this book-that book. It is to this day (2 years later) a conversation bond we have. I did tell her mother what books we discussed to be sure her Mom was in agreement and helped to reinforce her daughters reading habits. It always helps to be a team with the parents.
I present this as a primer to future discussions about this area of Grandparenting. It is but another way we can add value to these beautiful folks we call grandkids.
Thanks for being a Caring Grandparent. Grandpa NEIL