Family Issues
- Ages and Stages (18)
- Giving Money and Gifts (15)
- Grandparents and Child Care (4)
- Long-Distance Grandparents (23)
- Stepgrandparenting (4)
Insights from Parents for Alienated Grandparents
Comments from parents give insight into the issue of why some grandparents are cut off from grandchildren.
After Facebook: Social Networking Sites Your Grandkids Use
Grandchildren who are teens and young adults may be missing from your Facebook feed. Here are the sites they may be using instead, and arguments for and against following them.
Mother-Daughter Conflicts
Readers share their stories of mother-daughter conflicts in the hope that lessons derived from them might help others avoid conflict and its repercussions for grandparent-grandchild relationships.
Children and Divorce
Children and divorce--it's a sad combination, but if the children are your grandchildren, it's even more heartbreaking. Your actions in this situation can affect your relationships with your child and your grandchildren. It's vital that you think through your actions before you carry them out.
Dealing With Divorce of a Child
Grandparents dealing with divorce of a child need all the help they can get, especially if there are grandchildren involved. If you’ve been on the receiving end of such news, you’ve probably experienced these five emotions, as you go through the stages of dealing with divorce.
Grandparents Speak Out About Sir and Ma'am
Should grandchildren be expected to address adults using "sir" and "ma'am"? Grandparents share their opinions and their reasons for their expectations.
8 Areas Not in a Grandparent's Role
Wise grandparents observe boundaries. They may be asked for their advice, but some areas are not part of a grandparent's role.
When Grandparenting Isn't Fun
Grandparenting isn't always fun and games. Grandparent issues ranging from lack of time to access to grandchildren can complicate relationships with children and grandchildren.
Poll About Grandchildren Using 'Sir' and 'Ma'am'
Add to the conversation about grandchildren and manners by taking a poll about grandchildren using sir and ma'am. Do you and your grandchildren's parents agree about the use of sir and ma'am?
Preparing for a Grandparent Death
Sometimes a grandparent death is unexpected, and sometimes it is an event that is expected and can be planned for. Preparing grandchildren for a grandparent’s death can be difficult, but when the event actually occurs, the grandchildren are likely to cope much better than they would have if totally unprepared.
Dealing With the Death of a Grandparent
Children dealing with death need the support of understanding adults. A grandparent can help a child understand the death of one of his or her other grandparents.
Hints for Communicating With Adult Children About Your Grandchildren
Grandparents may find it difficult to communicate with adult children, especially about their grandchildren. These seven hints may make it easier.
What Not to Say to Your School-Age Grandchild
School-age grandchildren are lots of fun to be around and great to talk to. Still, there are things you should not say to your school-age grandchild.
What Not to Say to Your Teenage Grandchild
Grandparenting teenagers is a tricky business, especially if you don't know what not to say.
Book Review: How to Survive Living Under One Roof Again
Another challenge that grandparents may face is living with adult children and grandchildren. Under One Roof Again: All Grown Up and (Re)Learning to Live Together Happily is a book about shared housing and multigenerational living. Author Susan Newman, Ph.D., concentrates on the relationships involved.
Having Favorites Without Playing Favorites
Psychologists now say that favoritism is found in all families. The challenge is to deal with it in a non-hurtful way. Grandparents face extra challenges in avoiding playing favorites, since it is almost impossible to treat grandchildren the same. Equal treatment can be elusive as well, but grandparents should strive to be as equitable as...
Avoiding Favoritism During the Holidays
Nothing can ruin the holidays like perceived favoritism. Dividing up holiday time and choosing gifts are two areas where feelings can be hurt and the charge of favoritism can be made, unless diplomacy is exercised. Good communication among family members is key.
5 Grandparenting Myths That Need Debunking
Conventional wisdom says that grandparents have a natural bond with their grandchildren and love to spoil them. Find out about these and other grandparenting myths.
How Should Grandparents Communicate With Adult Children
What is your best bit of advice about how grandparents should communicate with their adult children? Readers respond with advice about bridging the generation gap.
Grandparenting Special Needs Children
Some children are clearly special needs children from their birth; sometimes their condition was known before birth. Other conditions, such as Attention Deficit Disorder, only manifest themselves as the child becomes older. In both cases, grandparents face the challenge of coming to terms with the fact that their loved and longed-for grandchild has special needs. As soon as possible, grandparents need to move on to accepting and dealing with their grandchild’s special needs.
Solutions to Pet Problems When Grandchildren Come to Visit
Perhaps you have a pet that doesn't get along with your grandchildren. Perhaps you don't care for your grandchildren's pets. Allergies to dogs and cats can also cause conflicts. Do you have dog problems, cat problems or other pet problems? We have solutions, or at least suggestions.
Grandparent Scam FAQs
Know the answers to these grandparent scam FAQs to avoid becoming a victim and also to protect elderly friends and family.
Should Grandparents Get to Do Fun Things With Their Grandchildren
A grandmother wants to take her granddaughter someone fun, but the parents say no. The grandmother is allowed to provide child care, but not to take the grandchild to a movie or museum. What's a grandmother to do?
Do Some Grandparents Have Problems With Boundaries?
Some grandparents have difficulty with boundaries, according to some parents. Where do those boundaries lie, and what do grandparents do that breach them?
Do Grandparents Have the Right to Spoil Grandchildren?
Traditionally, a grandparent's role is to spoil the grandchildren, but is that really a role that grandparents should try to fill?
What Should a Grandparent Do If a Grandchild Is Being Bullied?
If a grandchild reports to a grandparent that he or she is being bullied, what should the grandparent do? Find out more about what to do if a grandchild is being bullied.
Help for Grandparents in Understanding Autism
Grandparents may need help understanding autism spectrum disorders, but they can be invaluable resources for families dealing with a diagnosis.
How to Be a Good Mother-in-Law and Grandmother
In-law relationships are often considered difficult, and none is more difficult than the one between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law. It's worth learning how to be a good mother-in-law, as that role usually leads to the one of grandmother.
Daughters Becoming Mothers, Mothers Becoming Grandmothers
The birth of a child marks a new stage in the relationship between mother and daughter, and sometimes it heralds new problems.
How to Navigate Tricky Mother-Daughter Relationships
Mother-daughter relationships are sometimes close and sometimes contentious. There can be many causes for conflict, including a mother's reluctance to recognize a daughter as an adult.
Are You a Jealous Grandmother or Grandfather?
Jealousy is an emotion that can be very destructive in a grandparent's life. If you're a jealous grandmother or grandfather, learn more about how you can cope with troublesome feelings of jealousy.
Are You a Jealous Grandparent?
Grandparents often struggle with jealousy, especially feeling jealous of others for whom their grandchildren have fond feelings. If you've fought jealousy, share your experience with other readers.
How I Avoid Playing Favorites With Grandchildren - Avoiding Favoritism and...
Treating grandchildren equally can be especially challenging when they are radically different in ages, personalities and circumstances. Grandparents share how they avoid playing favorites.
Substance Abuse in the Family
Substance abuse is a serious problem in many families. Grandparents need to be informed so that they can work against drug abuse instead of perhaps unwittingly facilitating it.
Family Disputes Over Money
Relationships between grandparents and parents can be complicated by financial issues, but most most family disputes over money can be prevented.
Our Family Conflict About Money and How We Solved It
Family conflicts that center around finances can be difficult to resolve. Readers share their stories of family conflict about money.
How I Helped My Grandchild Deal With Death
Sooner or later most children must deal with death. Share your advice about helping a child who has lost a loved one.
A Reader Asks: Are We Too Strict With Our Grandchildren?
Grandparents report that they are considered too strict on their grandchildren, while they consider the parents too lenient.
How to Handle Cousin Rivalry
Cousin rivalry can be as intense as sibling rivalry, and it often occurs on grandparents' turf. Grandparents would be well-advised to develop strategies for avoiding and dealing with cousin rivalry.
Children as Caregivers for Grandparents
When grandchildren are young, grandparents may take care of them. When grandparents get elderly, sometimes grandchildren inherit a caregiving role.
6 Grandparenting Questions Asked by Readers
Readers pose grandparenting questions covering overprotective parents, jealous grandparents and other issues involving family conflict.
Understanding Parenting Styles
Grandparents may have difficulty understanding modern day parenting styles. This primer can help. It also tells grandparents what the various parenting philosophies will require from them.
Should I Have to Hide the Fact That I Want Grandchildren?
It's possible to damage your relationship with your children and their partners if you're too eager to become a grandparent. Learn why you should cool it, no matter how badly you want grandchildren.
Living in a Multigenerational Home
Moving into a multigenerational home can be tempting to grandparents because of the financial advantages. Also, some grandparents will enjoy having a helping hand nearby. Conflicts, however, are bound to arise and must be handled adeptly if the living arrangement is to succeed.
What's Wrong With Grandparents Seeing a Newborn Grandchild?
Although grandparents are usually eager to bond with their new grandchild, parents may prohibit visitors during the early days. Some draw the line at hospital visitors, and some don't even want visitors at home.
How Can Grandparents Promote Good Manners and Etiquette
How can grandparents teach good manners and etiquette, without stepping on the prerogatives of parents? Grandparents share their tips for teaching grandchildren the right thing to do.
Grandparents Voice Concerns About Manners and Etiquette
Some grandparents are critical of the manners and etiquette of younger generations. The grandparents we surveyed, however, are generally positive about the behavior of their own grandchildren. Get a chuckle out of these grandparents' insights, as well as finding ideas for improving grandkids' manners as well as having a chuckle .
When Grandparents Divorce
Grandparent divorce can be confusing for everyone, including adult children and grandchildren. Learn what factors lay behind the dissolving of some long-term marriages, and get insights about what to tell the grandchildren.
How Grandparenting Caused Conflict in My Marriage or Relationship
Have differences of opinion about grandparenting caused conflict in your marriage or relationship? Share your conflict and how you resolved it.
A Reader Asks: Should We Have to Share Our Grandson With My Sister?
A reader complains that her sister gets to see her grandson more than she does. She asks if she and her husband are just being jealous grandparents.
When Grandparents Argue About Grandchildren
Sure, grandparents love their grandchildren, but many also have another relationship to take care of: their relationship with their spouse or partner. Trying to be a good grandparent and a good partner can cause conflicts.
A Reader Asks: What Can Grandparents Do About Overprotective Parents?
A grandmother whose access to her grandchildren is severely limited asks for advice for dealing with her grandchildren's overprotective parents.