The beauty of being a grandparent is that you have the luxury of really focusing on enjoying the kids. Parents are responsible and busy! They work, manage the household, feed everyone, take care of all of the big and little things for themselves and their offspring around the clock. Somewhere in there, they also need to teach their kids life skills so their little ones eventually grow up to be genuine adults. Being a grandma often means you mostly get to pick and choose the fun parts of parenting. You can be a real help, but can also give the child back to mom when you need a break and a good night’s sleep. That flexibility is a real gift for grandparents but also for grandchildren. Grandparents can impart all the wisdom and skills they’ve learned over the years and grandkids can learn from someone who loves them and has time to be patient with them. The added bonus is that spending time with your grandkids doesn’t have to cost much, if anything. That’s golden. It’s all about sneaking life skills into activities they will love. Here are some ways you can give your grandchildren the gift of wisdom.
Reading
Any kind of reading is wonderful for kids. It doesn’t have to be the classics; it just has to interest them. Online blogs about topics they like, cereal boxes, magazines, or newspapers are all fair game and great for their brains. Take trips to your local library to explore.
Make sure the bookshelves at their home and yours are stocked with things that engage them. It doesn’t matter what the topic is as long as they want to open it up.
What kids don’t love hearing stories about themselves? Consider something silly and sweet like JibJab’s personalized books with pictures. Not only can you make the story about your grandchild, you can add his or her photos so he or she is really the main character of the book.
Sewing
People who know how to use a sewing machine will save themselves a lot of money over their lifetimes and they’ll keep a lot of waste out of landfills. Teaching a child to sew definitely takes patience, but that’s what grandmas are for! There is immeasurable benefit to working with a child to learn such a valuable life skill. Not only do they learn to make things with their own hands, they have to problem solve, do math, make design choices, think logically and in steps, and learn about how machines work. Plus, the pride they’ll feel creating something beautiful is priceless.
Music
One of the big benefits of having lived through multiple decades is that you got to experience art and culture that changed over time. Your grandkids probably know the pop songs all the kids in school are watching on YouTube, but you can teach them about the bigger world of music. Break out the Buddy Holly and teach them how to do the twist. Some Bee Gees and the hustle are sure to crack them up. If you know how, go old school and teach them about the 1940’s and 50’s crooners and the lovely couples dances that went along with them like the foxtrot.
YouTube is free and stocked with every old song you can think of. There are even free online tutorials if you need to brush up on your dance moves. If you really want to blow their young minds, pull out your turntable and old 45’s!
Cooking
Parents have to get the kids breakfast every morning, a lunch packed for school every day, and dinner on the table every night. All that constant pressure can take the joy out of cooking. Certainly, it can leave parents feeling like there isn’t time to do much teaching in the kitchen. That’s where grandparents shine!
Every adult should know how to make a handful of meals. Get your grandkids into your kitchen and show them how it’s done! Mom and dad will be thrilled that the kids are learning. You can really make everyone’s day if you have the kids make a meal the whole family will be happy to eat – that means a night off for the parents and some serious pride for the kids. If you give them cooking lessons often enough, the kids will grow up with a strong repertoire of cooking basics that they will use for life.
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