When you’re a new parent yourself, you often turn to your own parents for help and advice. Being a first-time mom is scary, which is why having your parents on hand to help can be useful. Of course, your parents and your partner’s parents, shouldn’t just be called upon when you are in need of a helping hand. They should be an important part of family life. After all, children need their grandparents in their lives.
Wondering why it’s important that your children’s grandparents play a part in their lives? Then keep reading to find out why grandparents should be part of family life, as well as how to include them in day to day life.
Why Grandparents Should be Part of Family Life
Your parents and your partner’s parents helped to shape who you are today. They bought you up, cared for you, and loved you. Now that you’ve got a family of your own, it’s important to continue to include them in family life. Far too many grandparents feel pushed out when their children have kids of their own. However, that shouldn’t be the case.
Grandparents play a vital role in their grandchildren’s lives. They can pass on family history, give children an insight into the bonds with their extended family, and can also teach them new life skills. They make great babysitters, tell the best stories, and so much more. As they no longer work, they have the time to do all sorts of fun things with them, from sewing and baking to taking them for exciting days out.
Just like you need help from your parents when you have kids, your children need their grandparents in their lives. So make sure to find ways to make yours’ and your partner’s parents a regular part of family life.
How to Include Yours’ and Your Partner’s Parents in Your Family’s Daily Life
If yours’ or your partner’s parents live a distance from you, ask them to move closer. They may not want to, but it’s nice that they know that you would like them to be closer so that they can spend more time with your kids. If you really want to include them in family life, how about using a company like Backyard Granny’s to build a self-sufficient “granny flat?” Just think, then your kids would be able to see their grandparents whenever they wanted to, but you’d also still have your own space.
Another great way to make grandparents part of family life is to have them over for brunch a couple of times a week. Or, perhaps every Sunday you could invite yours’ and your partner’s parents over for a big family dinner? That way your children will get plenty of time to spend with their grandparents.
Grandparents should play an important role in their grandchildren’s lives, so make sure you invite them over spend as much time with your little ones as possible. My girls see my parents just about every day and that is so important and special to me.
My parents were a big part of my children's life. They even babysat quite often for me. My children were lucky to have grandparents live until 90 and 93 years old.
twinkle at optonline dot net
My parents and most I know who are in their fifties or early sixties work, even my own grandma, a retired nurse, went back to teach clinicals. Also, so many people have family members who are not good examples and are better off NOT around. Not to be Debbie downer, but this article only applies to a few.
I agree with this entire post. We make weekly plans with the grandparents so they can be part of our son's life as much as they can. We all get along so wonderfully that this has never been an issue.