Planting the Seed

Grandparents and Toddlers

By Laurie Dove

Rita Patterson, a 63-year-old grandmother of 11, has been writing poetry since she can remember.

"I wrote my first little poem in the first grade," she says. "My teacher and my mom and dad made me feel very good about it. They were so proud of me."

It is that pride that Patterson, of Kansas, has worked to instill in her own children's and grandchildren's accomplishments, no matter how small.

One way to do this has been to write poetry created just for them, she says. Each grandchild received a poem at an early age, detailing their special qualities.

"I have to let them develop their own personalities first," Patterson says. "Each one is different. Each one is special."

But Patterson, who has had poetry published in national anthologies more than a half-dozen times, does more than just write for her grandchildren. She writes with them.

Patterson, who co-owns and operates a dairy farm with her husband of 42 years, Dean, and her son Doug, spends many summer hours driving a tractor with her grandchildren aboard. So much so, in fact, that the Pattersons devised a special platform in the tractor cab on which even the youngest grandchildren perch while their grandma plows or disks or plants a field.

It is during those long tractor rides that Patterson teaches her grandchildren how to make up stories, songs and, of course, poetry.

"Tractor driving has never been boring to me," Patterson says. "I spend the long hours thinking about things. That's when I think about all the cute little things (my grandchildren) do. None of them are alike. That's how I find out what they are like by spending so much time with them."

But not every grandparent has the luxury of time.

Today, millions of American families are separated by distances that are too vast to make day-to-day grandparenting possible, adversely affecting the grandparent-grandchild relationship and making it difficult to pass on inter-generational wisdom through activities, such as sharing hobbies or crafts.

Want to see more?

• The Foundation for Grandparenting
• Springing Free: Outdoor Activities to Share with Your Toddler
• Holiday Gifts Your Toddler Can Make
• It's Raining, It's Pouring That Doesn't Mean It's Boring!
• Growing up with Grandparents: Why You Should Make Your Parents Part of Your Child's Life
• Activity Swap Discussion Board