Growing up can be tough. Kids need all the help and support they can get. Social and emotional support can go a long way in shaping the kind of adult a child turns into. In fact, research shows that a positive child-parent bond has countless benefits for the child.
While this is true, most people tend to overlook the impact grandparents have on their grandchildren. As the world's average life expectancy increases, more and more people are having longer and healthier lives, often long enough to be grandparents and to have an impact in their grandkids' lives.
This just goes to show that times are changing. Grandparents are now shaping the lives of their grandkids by becoming more involved in child-rearing roles. Grandparents are often seen as the glue that holds the family together. They offer much-needed leadership, comfort, and leadership in crisis situations. Their wisdom, life experience, and wit make them essential members of a family unit.
A close positive relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is very important. A lot of times, it has the capacity to influence the happiness and comfort of the entire family.
This article will dive deeper into all the ways grandparents are important to their grandchildren.
1. They reduce household stress
Grandparents can be the perfect companions for their grandkids. To the kids, they are partners to play and have fun with. Plus, most grandparents genuinely love their role of being their grandchildren's companions. Therefore, the input of grandparents is unrivaled as it keeps family members happy, significantly reducing household stress. Grandchildren who are emotionally close to their grandparents are also less likely to be depressed.
2. They provide a sense of security
Grandparents provide their grandkids with a sense of security, especially during a crisis. Having more people to provide support during tough times can make a huge difference in a child’s life.
This is especially important when the kids are in their teenage years trying to figure out where they fit in society. Grandchildren who have a close relationship with their grandparents have less emotional and behavioral problems and are less socially awkward with their peers.
Also, children tend to be more open with their grandparents than their parents. This makes it easier for them to talk about the things they are going through with their grandparents. It is a good thing that most grandparents are more than willing to lend an ear to their grandkids.
3. They are an affordable option for childcare
If both parents are busy working away from home, grandparents are the most affordable option for childcare. When grandparents are able and willing to help with raising the kids, they can be of great help to the entire family. They give the parents a great sense of relief since they are sure that they have left their kids in loving, caring, and capable hands.
4. They influence the choices their grandkids make
Grandparents play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren. A lot of people believe that their values and beliefs were impacted in one way or another by the values that their grandparents had.
Grandparents are a source of unwavering support and emotional intimacy. This is one of the main reasons why regular contact between grandkids and their grandparents can help in the positive development of the children. Grandparents help to raise happy adults.
5. They provide extra help
Grandparents are available to provide parents with an extra set of helping hands. In case of a situation where the parents need help with anything with regards to their children, grandparents are the best option to turn to.
Plus, grandparents also often help parents get through a crisis, whether emotional or financial. This help will trickle down to the grandkids.
6. They are a source of heritage for their grandchildren
Grandparents have lived a long life, making them the best sources of family history. The stories they tell can have great impact on the lives of their grandkids. When they tell the stories of their hardships, they may help the children feel less discouraged when they encounter their own hardships.
The stories grandparents tell are a great way of sharing and preserving family history. The stories they tell will be retold by their grandkids, keeping the family history alive.
Grandparents also provide their grandchildren with a sense of family identity. They introduce the kids to family traditions, connecting their grandkids to the past. Some family traditions are useful and are worth preserving. Having a sense of heritage is important as it helps in making children and adults less prone to feelings of isolation and psychological pain.
7. Grandparents provide unconditional love
The love grandparents have for their grandchildren is unconditional. While parental love is also unconditional, it can often be complicated as their love is also bound by hopes and expectations. The love grandparents have for their grandchildren is much simpler.
When grandparents develop a close relationship with their grandkids, the love they have for them helps develop the confidence of the grandchildren. They get a feeling of being worthy and security knowing that they have someone to lean on.
8. Grandparents are good teachers
These days, most kids grow up without being taught many helpful life skills. This is probably because their parents often lack enough time to teach them. Grandparents can be a good solution to this problem. Most of them have more free time compared to the parents, giving them the opportunity to pass on some of these important skills.
Furthermore, most grandparents grew up at a time when things were less mechanized than they are today. This makes them more skilled with their hands than parents today. As the cherry on top, since grandparents genuinely care about their grandkids, they will teach their grandkids those useful skills very carefully as they are concerned about their safety.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, grandparents are very important in the lives of their grandchildren. Grandchildren are just as important to their grandparents.
The bond between grandparents and their grandkids is a special one and should be encouraged. They play an important role in helping your kids grow to become better human beings. The best part is that they love doing it!