Denton County Living Well Magazine May/June 2019 | Page 47

WORTHWHILE RELATIONSHIPS FOR KIDS
By Don Simpson
A
child’s time with their grand-
parent provides a lot more than
free babysitting. These
intergenerational relationships
provide a lot of benefits beyond
just having strong family bonds
and warm memories.
Spending time with the grand-
parents provides many lessons
about emotional and social intel-
ligence. The ability to be aware
of and express feelings is a trait
your children will be watching
and learning their entire lives. During
the time spent with their grandpar-
ents, they will learn how people they
trust, other than their parents, share
and express their emotions. If they
accidentally break something and
see that their grandmother doesn’t
throw a fit, your child will learn how
to handle their feelings when upset. If
they hear their grandfather talk about
how much he appreciates their grand-
mother, they’ll learn how to love and
care for others.
Emotionally intelligent kids are
able to better maneuver relation-
ships through social intelligence.
The home of their grandparents is a
great place to begin showing your
children that they are loved, safe
and secure in other homes. It’s great
for your kids to witness how other
families work, see other successful
relationships and practice having
their own relationships. It helps them
to relate to people other than you.
It also helps them learn how to be
nice, caring, and how to act when
you are not around. They learn
how to follow rules that might be
a little different than the rules in
your home.
If your children are unable to spend
time with their grandparents, they
can still establish beneficial inter-
generational relationships with other
older adults at church, in your neigh-
borhood or by visiting local adult liv-
ing facilities. My daughters have a
nurturing and loving relationship with our
older neighbor. She has been a wonder-
ful example to my daughters’ lives and
we are grateful for her stepping in as a
grandmother figure.
Grandparents or other older mentors
in your children’s lives are valuable,
so you may want to consider adding
more grandparent time into your kids’
schedules.
DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MAY/JUNE 2019
45