This is a sponsored guest post.
Becoming a grandparent is one of the most rewarding things to happen in one’s life. Grandparents often make some of the biggest impacts on a child’s life and are usually some of the child’s favorite people. Grandparents are important to families and have the ability to provide endless love, support, and comfort to their grandchildren. In fact, grandparents often help in the parenting process of raising a child.
Some grandparents are more impactful in their grandchild’s life than others; this is usually based on how close they live to their grandchild and how much the parents want their own parents involved. No matter how much or how little a grandparent is involved in the parenting aspect of raising a child, it’s crucial that he or she knows how to parent right. This post will detail some ways to parent as a grandparent.
How to Parent as a Grandparent
In order to be the best grandparent you can be, it’s important that you know how to parent as a grandparent, acting as reinforcement to the actual parents and as a support system for the child. Here are some tips for grandparents on parenting:
Make Sure To Not Overstep Boundaries
This is one of the most important things to keep in mind as you learn how to parent as a grandparent. It’s common for grandparents to overstep their boundaries without even realizing it, perhaps parenting too much. Oftentimes grandparents will do things unintentionally that the parent finds frustrating and inconveniencing and unfortunately, the grandparents don’t recognize this.
As a grandparent, make sure to do all things with good intentions and to have an open relationship with the child’s parents in order to not overstep any boundaries. For example, if you are watching your grandchild and he or she is misbehaving, talk to the parent of the child to see what kind of discipline they prefer; don’t take it upon yourself to spank or reprimand a child. Or, if you are watching your grandchild and he or she wants to eat something unhealthy like a treat or something that they normally wouldn’t eat at home, clear it with the parents first.
Don’t Be Pushy
Another common action that grandparents accidentally do is being too pushy. Grandparents often want to tell their children how to parent and will point out things that they think they are doing wrong. Being too pushy creates a bad relationship between you and the parents and will also have a negative impact on your own parenting-as-a-grandparent skills.
In order to parent as a grandparent, make suggestions to the parents of the child, but do not make demands or criticize them. Pushiness will make the parents not want the child to spend as much time with you; hurting your relationship with your beloved grandchild. If you think the parent should be doing something more or differently, inquire about it but don’t keep bringing it up; unless of course, the action is detrimental to the child’s life or wellbeing.
Ask Questions
Asking questions is a great way to learn how to parent as a grandparent. Questions will allow you to form a positive and open relationship with the parents of the child and will also have an outstanding impact on the child’s life. If you are unsure if something is okay, such as letting the child stay up past his or her bedtime on the weekend, or whether or not the child is allowed to come to a certain place with you, just ask.
Asking questions will also give you a better understanding of what the child needs and what he or she is used to, resulting in the most beneficial choices for the child.
Be Practical
It’s crucial that you are practical when it comes to parenting as a grandparent; meaning, do things that make sense and are beneficial for the child’s wellbeing and health. Sometimes grandparents do things in attempts to be fun or to play a vital role in their grandchild’s life, and sometimes these things can have negative impacts on the child.
Additionally, when it comes to being practical, do what you are physically able to. For example, if you live at home and use in-home senior care services, it may be more practical to offer to watch the child for a few hours rather than overnight or over the weekend as you depend on your service care provider to help you complete certain tasks. Make sure that all of your parenting-as-a-grandparent choices are made with reason and are feasible.
Parental Responsibilities as a Grandparent
As a grandparent, you will be expected to make parental choices and it’s up to you to make the right choices that will benefit the child and your relationship with their actual parents. Your level of responsibility for your grandchild will differ depending on how close you are with him or her, but no matter what, it’s important to know the basics when it comes to parenting as a grandparent.
