Tips on how to break the cycle of being a groundhog grandparent (chch.com)
As a grandparent, you will have the instinct to give advice to your adult children or make comments about their parenting styles.
While it may come from a loving place, it can often be discouraging and even hurtful to your kids.
Grandparenting expert Kathy Buckworth joined Bob Cowan on Morning Live to share six things grandparents need to stop saying and doing.
What to Stop:
- Comparing what your grandchild is doing to what their parents were doing at the same age
- Saying “You turned out fine” each time you are criticized for using an outdated parenting method or discussing the safety measures today’s parents make in relation to cribs, car seats, clothing, toys and games
- Saying “A little too much screen time never hurt anyone.” According to the World Health Organization, kids should not watch TV until they are two years old
- Discouraging their eating habits. If they’re vegan, you don’t have to agree with it but you do have to support them
- Criticizing the way they dress the grandkids
- Posting images and stories of your kids and grandkids on social media without their permission
What to Start:
- Praising the parenting strategies of your kids
- If you can, offering to watch the grandkids on a regular basis instead of saying “You can ask me anytime”
- Inviting your kids and grandkids over for dinner or out for dinner
- If you live close, cook meals and drop them off
- Arrange a house cleaning service with their approval and their timing
