- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- grandparents today articles
- grandparents today q&a
- community & groups
- 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
From Our Sponsors
- 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.
Who Are You Calling Grandma?
When You're the First
to Become a Grandparent By Sue Marquette Poremba
(Berkley Trade, 1999), agrees. "The image of grandparents today is far from the rocking chair of yesterday," she says. Treat It as a GiftWhen one of my relatives became a grandmother in her early 40s, long before any of her friends, she denied her new role. She limited her time with her grandchild and struggled to come up with an acceptable name for the child to call her. She pronounced that having a grandchild made her "old." However, once her friends began to become grandparents, my relative's attitude softened. She, too, was now ready to embrace this role in her life.
to Become a Grandparent
Rather than feeling "old" because you become a grandparent before your friends and peers, Jane Lanigan, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University-Vancouver, says young grandparents should consider this a gift to both the grandparent and grandchild.
"Research and common sense tells us that young grandparents are more playful and fun," says Lanigan, who specializes in parenting and family issues. "Their relationships tend to be less formal and more active than that of older grandparents."
Lanigan also suggests taking advantage of the closeness in age between your grandchildren and your friends' children, if possible. "It can actually create a greater common ground in those friendships when sharing in the development of your friends' children and your grandchildren."
Young grandparents have a unique position in the lives of their grandchildren. "You have energy to do things like a parent," Mandel says. "The grandchildren adore you because you have energy like a young person, but you are more patient and accepting."