- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- grandparents today articles
- grandparents today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Your First Grandchild
How to Help
Without Becoming a Hindrance By Katherine Bontrager
Without Becoming a Hindrance
Mary Pat Bogart attended the class held at Mountainside Hospital in anticipation of her first grandchild. "I decided to take the class because this will be my first grandchild and I've not been around babies for 20 years. Things have changed everything has changed!"
Among the things that Bogart learned was to be relaxed and enjoy the child. "Also, try not to do the things that your mother did to you when you were children!" she says. "I think the class is a wonderful opportunity and all of us need to be educated no matter what."
Another such class is offered at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich. The "Bonding the Generations" class is especially designed for grandparents, and the course offers the latest information on current birthing practices, infant feeding techniques, infant brain development, safety concerns and changing grandparent roles in today's world.
Maggie Eitzen teaches the course, which was started about two years ago. "We have them start with a warm-up in which they relate what their favorite time with a grandparent was, and that brings back what they want to be to their grandchildren," Eitzen says.
She says that much has changed in birthing, sleeping and feeding practices and it is integral for grandparents to actively understand why their children may be doing things very differently.
"Much of class is oriented to minimizing conflict between the generations," Eitzen says. "We want them to know what's new so they won't have conflicts with the new parents."
Many members of the older generation don't understand the importance of breastfeeding, the necessity to have infants sleep on their backs or when it's OK to start children on solid foods.
"We have a tour of the maternity unit and look at a modern birthing room and discuss changes in birthing practice," she says. "We teach how caregivers should react to a choking infant, and we talk about building a baby's brain, infant development and things they can do to foster brain growth."
