MAXIMIZING THE BOND BETWEEN GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDCHILDREN

Living near the beach I get the guilty pleasure of friends coming down here for a vacation and I don’t have to drive that far. Sometimes when I am talking with my, now teen, grandkids I mention that Grandpa Neil has an ocean. Within a few months, they magically show up at my door. Funny how that works.

My friend of over a half-century comes with his bride each year to visit for a couple of weeks. We always get together a few times. Last year he mentioned his pride that his daughter was walking in the footsteps of her Dad. He is an acclaimed author so she had to show him up and to date, she has written three novels that have enjoyed time on the New York Best Sellers list. She has a three-book deal with a major publishing house as well. As an aside, she was about 6 when we used to play cards at his house. She was delightful even those 40+ years ago.

As I have read almost everything she has written I decided to read one of her books. The book I read was “GARDEN SPELLS” by; Sarah Addison Allen. It is a delightful romantic novel about an enchanted apple tree that had discerning powers and would throw its fruit at folks it didn’t like.

About 6 months later, I was discussing with my three teen grandkids what books they were reading, which we routinely do and my 15-year-old granddaughter mentioned she liked romance novels. I returned home and re-read Garden Spells to be sure of its appropriateness and directly ordered a copy sent straight to her. Now we have not had a chance to discuss it but I know that she cares that I care about what she cares about. This is a connection that I remember from my Dale Carnegie days. The fourth principle is to become genuinely interested in what other people are interested in and by doing this you transmit a connection with them.

This is just one of many common interests I foster with my grandchildren. I have mentioned in a previous article that my one granddaughter has an interest in horses and since her Dad and I have a Shopify store called Caringhorsesupplies.com we share this connection as well.

I find that I broaden my horizons when I seek to find the interests of my wonderful Grands.

Thanks for being a Caring Grandparent.