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Bonding With Helping Hands
Volunteering With Grandkids
By Sue Poremba
"There is a wealth of volunteer opportunities out there," says Rothernberg, "What direction the grandparents and teens go in is driven by capabilities and interests."
"Older adults often seem uncomfortable working with teens," says Ken Black, a grandfather and coordinator of a program called Adults Involved in Mentoring Students. However, given the opportunity, most teenagers will endear themselves to the grandparent generation with their hard work, energy and technological skills.
To get the community service ball rolling, grandparents can make the first move by asking where the teenager plans to volunteer to fulfill requirements. Tell your teenage grandchild that you'd like to get involved with community service (or perhaps get involved with a new volunteer opportunity), and suggest the two of you think of something to do together.
It is important to allow the teenager to be fully involved in the process of choosing the service project. To maximize the bonding experience – which is the main objective here – it has to be something both generations are interested in doing.
Sometimes the volunteer activity comes to mind easily. For example, both the grandparent and grandchild have a common interest in history, so they volunteer together at a local museum or historical site. Most often, however, the two generations need to dig a little deeper to come up with a compromise idea.
Rohenberg suggests the grandparent and the grandchild make three lists. "One list should focus on the individual's competency or what they're good at," he says. "The next list should be interests. And finally, make a list of values, what is important to the person. And then compare the notes for similarities. If you don't narrow it down in some way, the task can be overwhelming."