Keys To An Enriching Relationship: Grandparents And Grandchildren

If we close our eyes for a moment, we can all remember what our relationship with our grandparents was like. Memories full of love that give us the best of legacies. That of feeling loved, safe and cared for. Now … Have you ever wondered what is the educational responsibility and the ideal relationship between grandparents and grandchildren ?

Nowadays fathers and mothers tend to spend a lot of time away from home due to their work responsibilities, with the grandparents being in charge of the little ones. Do they perhaps have the same obligations when it comes to educating? Or is there a limit? Today in our space we invite you to reflect on it.

Grandparents and Grandchildren: The Role in Education

We will start by indicating something essential. In the life of a child, everyone educates, directly or indirectly. Fathers, mothers, grandparents, teachers, uncles, neighbors, and even television and society itself. All of us offer something to a greater or lesser extent to children:

• Words, affections, information.
• Guidelines that they can imitate or that will serve as guidance.

Children are mostly receptive to everything that surrounds them, hence the importance that all stimuli are always enriching for them.

The role of the education of children by grandparents is important. Then some aspects should be considered:

These include the following

• Despite the fact that the whole environment is important in the life of a child, the responsibility of setting educational guidelines, norms, rules and being the primary focus of attention and care, falls on the parents.
• Grandparents already fulfilled their role as parents in the past. Now, there is a pragmatic assumption that they have to play the role of grandparents. This means serving as support to carry out care tasks when parents cannot.
• Grandparents tend to be an emotional reference, which the child assumes as part of their development and enriches their experiences based on stages of coexistence. Children can count on the affection of their grandparents, with their care and unconditional support, so that in this way they can learn from that legacy of feelings, stories and affections.

• Certainly the educational responsibility falls on the parents, it is important that an agreement is reached with the grandparents on what is allowed and what is not, so that there are no inconsistencies in the education of the little ones. If parents, for example, do not allow them to go outside to play at night, grandparents cannot break that rule. They are basic things that are worth agreeing in advance.

Grandparents also need their time and space

Grandparents adore their grandchildren and we know that they enjoy every moment they spend with them. Now, we must bear in mind that they also need their moments of rest and personal growth. We must remember that life expectancy now exceeds 75 years, so it is common to find older people with a very active life, who enjoy their friendships, their hobbies, their dances and their trips.

They have already finished their parenting time with us, they are still parents, but their responsibilities are different now and their role has changed. They need to take care of themselves inside and out, and lead a full life. The grandchildren are an essential part of their life, and they will count the hours to be with them again, but it is important that we also allow them to enjoy their personal moments.

Grandparents and grandchildren, moments of complicity that they must always remember

As parents, we must be aware that the time our children spend with their grandparents will be limited. The law of life, if it is as it should be, reminds us that parents will go before their children. So, whenever you can, foster your children’s relationship with your parents. Make their moments always placid and enriching.

That will be the best legacy you can give your children. The material is not important as long as the little ones always remember the following:

• That they were loved by their grandparents. That their every word was heeded, that they made them feel like the most important people in the world.
• The grandparents made them part of the family legacy through the memory of stories, anecdotes, stories that they will keep forever in their memory as the best of gifts.
• Grandparents are the first image that the little ones are going to have of maturity, of wrinkles, of those gray hair that disturb a friendly face. If your relationship is loving, magical and endearing, it can serve as a reference tomorrow, to become “just as happy as your grandparents.”

Children and grandparents: conclusions

In conclusion, we must be aware of the role of grandparents in the education of our children. In fact, they will create an indelible memory in the memory of our children. Therefore, it is important that they spend time with them, without saturating grandparents with burdens and obligations. Finally, point out the importance of grandparents in the education of the little ones. They are a great support to parents.