The Essential Grandparent

Ready or not, you're a grandparent! How did you get here so fast? No one consults you about this new role. It is handed to you without your advice or consent. So now that you're here at this new stage of life, the question before you is, what are you going to make of it? This book will help you find your answer and assist you in developing a plan for your grandparenting. It will dispel the myths and "tell it like it is." You'll learn that other grandparents feel just as you do. It will guide you to become aware of the possibilities, encourage you to trust your intuition, and teach you how to set goals so that you can make the most of this essential role. Just as babies don't come with instructions for parents, they certainly don't come with instructions for grandparents! The joys of grandparenting are available to all. It's healthy for us, the older generation, to nurture the young. It is our natural task to influence the future in this way. There are no requirements for a grandparent to be of a certain color, educational level, lifestyle or economic class. However, just loving our children and grandchildren is not enough. The joy comes from our ingenuity, energy and determination to provide stability and purpose. It is ours for the doing.

Grandparenting is a sacred, challenging, and sometimes bewildering calling. As educators, writers, and grandmothers with twelve grandchildren between them, Marilyn McEntyre and Shirley Showalter team up to share practices, tips, and ideas for grandparenting with intention and grace.

"Loving help has arrived to help you remain an "essential grandparent" in the midst of divorce and change in the family.Author Lillian Carson offers you this new "Essential Grandparent" guide, one that teaches you how to handle the complicated and delicate practical, down-to-earth advice and tips on how to maintain your support for your grandchildren, as well as your grown children, through these challenging and emotional times.Few families escape the heartache of divorce. Whether it's the divorce of parents or grandparents, it throws the family into turmoil. If you are facing issues you never expected to have-struggling with the pain of divorce, worrying about how it will affect your children and grandchildren, adjusting to a new blended or extended family-this book will answer your questions with sound advice, wisdom and support. It will show you that you can reclaim power and hope.

Grandfathers connect us to the past and give us the wisdom we need to face the future. That's why this artfully designed keepsake offers grandfathers their own special vehicle for sharing their lives with the youngest generation. The contemporary styling and irresistible format--featuring helpful questions written from the grandchild's perspective--make it wonderfully easy to explore family history. There's space to mention favorite relatives, jot down beloved stories, and pass on the important lessons that Grandfather learned from his parents--and grandparents. He can recount details of his childhood and teen years; reminisce about how he met Grandma; and reflect on his own experiences with fatherhood. Because the grandchild is also the star, there are questions to inspire Grandfather to remember when he first saw his grandchild, reveal what he likes best about being a grandparent, and relate how being a grandparent has changed who he is as a person. And of course, this essential volume has plenty of room to paste in precious photos and mementos.

An indispensible resource for all grandparents or soon-to-be grandparents, filled iwth invaluable information that you can refer to again and again.

"This third edition of The Graying of America has been retitled, revised, and expanded. In concise, nontechnical language, it offers middle-aged and senior readers useful information on the effects of aging on health, the mind, and behavior"--Provided by publisher.

A beautiful meditation on the joys of being a grandparent and a practical guide to help you and your adult children make the most of your relationship with a grandchild. For many grandparents, a grandchild offers a second chance to become the parent they didn’t have the time or the energy to be when raising their own children. Being a grandparent, family relationships expert Jane Isay argues, is the opportunity to turn missed opportunities into delight. Drawing on her personal experience, dozens of interviews, and the latest findings in psychology, Isay shows how a grandparent can use his or her unique perspective and experience to create a deep and lasting bond that will echo throughout a grandchild’s life. She explores the realities of today’s multigenerational families, identifying problems and offering solutions to enhance love, trust, and understanding between grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. She also offers a wealth of practical advice, from when to get involved, when to stay away, and how to foster a strong relationship when you’re separated by long distance. Unconditional Love advocates for honest conversation, thinking in the long run and healing breaches in order to be together, understanding that most of us try to do our best and need to be forgiven if we fail. Isay argues that secrets and surprises may tilt the boat but won’t necessarily sink it and that grandparents and their grown children are happier when they give each other the benefit of the doubt. Most importantly, she writes, the advent of grandchildren offers families the opportunity for healing and redemption—if we seize the moment. In lovely prose and through delightful stories, Isay shows us how we can. A great gift for grandparents-to-be and a wonderful resource for all, Unconditional Love is a beautiful and psychologically astute look at what it means to be an engaged grandparent.