10 Things Grandparents Can Do This Week to Strengthen Family Bonds

By Neil Taft

Strong family bonds do not build themselves. They grow in small moments – a phone call, a shared meal, a question asked with real curiosity. After more than 80 years of family life across four generations, I’ve learned that the grandparents who stay close to their grandchildren are not the ones with the most time or money. They are the ones who show up consistently, in small ways, week after week.

Here are ten things you can do this week to strengthen your family bonds.

1. Send one unexpected message today

Do not wait for a birthday or holiday. Send a text, voice note, or short video to a grandchild right now just to say you are thinking of them. No agenda. No advice. Just connection.

Grandchildren remember the grandparents who reached out for no reason at all.

2. Ask one question you have never asked before

Most grandparents ask the same questions every call – school, friends, activities. This week, go deeper. Ask your grandchild:

  • What is something you are really proud of lately?
  • What is the hardest part of your week?
  • What do you wish more people understood about you?

One good question opens more doors than an hour of small talk.

3. Learn something from their world

Pick one thing your grandchild loves – a game, a show, a sport, or a musician – and spend 15 minutes learning about it before your next conversation. Then bring it up.

Nothing signals “I see you” more powerfully than a grandparent who took time to understand their world.

4. Call the parents first

If you want a stronger relationship with your grandchildren, invest in your relationship with their parents this week. Send a text of appreciation. Offer help without strings attached. Ask how they are doing – not just the kids.

The grandparent-grandchild relationship runs through the parents. Honor that.

5. Start or revive a ritual

A ritual does not have to be elaborate. It just has to be yours – something repeated, something that belongs only to you and your grandchildren.

My signature ritual is the upside-down hug. It started as a way to make my grandchildren laugh. Decades later, it is still going, passed down through generations.

What is your ritual? If you do not have one yet, this week is a good time to start.

6. Share a story from your own life

Not advice. Not a lesson. Just a story – something real from your own experience that your grandchild has never heard.

A failure you recovered from. A decision you regret. A moment that changed you. Stories build bridges that advice never can – especially for grandchildren navigating hard seasons.

For grandparents of faith, this is where values transmission happens most naturally. Share how your faith shaped a decision. Let the story carry the message.

7. Write something down

Write a letter, a memory, or a short reflection about your grandchild – what you love about them, what you see in them, and what you hope for them. You do not have to send it today.

But written words outlast us. A letter discovered years from now can change a life.

8. Respect a boundary without being asked

Think of one area where you have been pushing – advice about parenting, dietary choices, screen time, or religion. This week, let it go without being asked to.

Boundaries respected voluntarily build more trust than boundaries enforced reluctantly. And trust is the foundation of every lasting family bond.

9. Show up for something small

Not the graduation. Not the big recital. The Tuesday soccer practice. The ordinary Wednesday dinner. The random afternoon when nothing special is happening.

Grandchildren notice who shows up when there is no occasion. That is the presence they carry with them.

10. Tell them directly that you love them

Not implied. Not assumed. Said out loud, in words, without a reason attached.

“I love you” is the most underused sentence in most families. Say it this week. Say it again next week. Make it a habit that outlasts you.

The thread running through all ten

Every item on this list has one thing in common: intention. None of them happen by accident. They require a decision – small, daily, repeated – to show up for your family with purpose.

That decision is available to every grandparent, regardless of distance, family complexity, or past mistakes. It starts this week, with one small action.

Neil Taft is a great-great grandpa, author of four grandparenting books, and TEDx presenter based in North Carolina. His work has reached millions of grandparents worldwide. Explore his books and resources at neiltaft.com.