The National Grandparents Day isn’t the only day that provides people with an excellent opportunity to honor the older members of families and appreciate them for all that they have done. Remember the adage “They keep me feeling young”? This saying is backed by solid research that reveals that grand kids motivate their grandparents to be more engaged and active.
Grandchild-grandparent relationships are a powerful source of mental health benefits, in addition to helping curb depression while promoting a sense of well-being. Moreover, grandparents of today are more actively involved in their grand kids lives than those of previous generations.
In fact, a recent US census report has discovered that about 10 percent of the current 65 million grandparents live with their grand kids. This has given rise to the “sandwich generation,” where the children, their parents, and the grandparents live together under one roof, or where the grandparents raise their grandchildren by themselves.
The other 90 percent of grandparents who do not live with their grandchildren also tend to be actively involved in their grand kids lives by providing guidance, financial support, and child care. And when most seniors are asked why they decided to retire from their jobs, they mention wanting to spend more time with the grand kids as one of the top factors.
Given the loads of benefits that grandchildren and grandparents have to offer each other, it only makes sense to look for the best ways to appreciate them every day. Here are a few things you can do.
Create a Family Tree
For this activity, the kids can sit down with their grandparents and make a family tree. During the process of drawing out this tree, the grandparents will inevitably have to share stories about the various family members. It is a fun experience since it will be a trip down memory lane for the seniors as they remember their younger years while, for the kids, it will be a good opportunity to learn more about their family.
Host a Reunion
Try to get all your relatives together during this day so that they can spend the weekend with one another and with Grandpa and Grandma. “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa” is a song that you should play for your grandparents during this day. This should make them very happy.
Interviewing Grandpa or Grandma
Here, the children will get to ask the old folks a variety of questions so that they can learn more about them. Examples of these questions include the following:
- What did you like doing as a child?
- Who was your best friend?
- How did you meet Grandpa/Grandma?
- What was your first job?
- If you can give me one life tip, what would it be?
Bake Something Together
The kids can ask their grandparents to share the traditional family recipe with them so that they can bake a treat. During the process, the seniors will get the chance to pass along snippets of their family’s history.
Have a Sleepover
You can arrange for the children to spend the night at their grandparent’s house or vice versa. The parents can arrange for a movie to watch, pizza delivery, games to play, and so on. This is meant for the grandparents and kids to have lots of fun together while bonding.
Share What You Love about Them
You can also use this opportunity to let your grandparents know what you value and appreciate about them. It is best to do this in person; however, if that is not possible, you can share these thoughts in a letter, card, or drawing.
Take a Road Trip
You could take advantage of this opportunity and drive your kids and your parents to see some of the places that were important to your parents as they were growing up.
Play a Retro Game
Take a minute to research which board games or activities were the most popular during their teenage or childhood years. Get these games or learn those activities so that you can have fun with your grandparents.
Learn One of their Hobbies
Children should learn a hobby or two from their grandparents. They can get valuable skills such as fishing, knitting, bird watching, woodworking, sewing, etc.
Create a Family Photobook
Take your time to meet with family and get their photos. You will then place these photos in a high-quality photo book and present it to them during that day so that they can see the family that they built.
Celebrate
Grandparents have had a day dedicated to them since 1978 and with good reason. In addition to treating you to fascinating stories of their adventures growing up, your grandparents are gems in your lives because of the sacrifices they made for you to be where you are today. And with old age slowly creeping up on them, it is imperative that you celebrate them whenever you can.
Photo URL: https://unsplash.com/photos/pwMds57bapI
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
