The Importance Of Grandparents in Your Child’s Life

Indian families and multigenerational households have always gone hand-in-hand. However, with young professionals flocking to metropolitan cities in the quest of making a living and the constant rise in nuclear families across the nation, the concept of living with your parents seems to be diminishing by the day. However, the truth remains that after you and your partner, the only people who genuinely love and care for your children are their grandparents. Let’s take a closer look at the importance of grandparents in children’s lives, and the role of grandparents in the Indian family. How they have the power to mould your child for today’s competitive world.

Quality time for your child

We are currently living in a technology-driven world that is much faster and progressive than the previous generation. Families have evolved, and parents may not be able to spend as much time with their children when compared to the older times. This is when grandparents come to the rescue and make up for the quality family time that children crave. They provide a sense of belonging to your child and are the closest alternative to fill up yours and your partner’s shoes during the busy hours of the day. Whether it is dropping your child off at an after-school daycare program or indulging in fun summer activities to keep them busy, they are more than willing to be part of your little one’s life. That’s why grandparent’s role is so important in our Indian family.

A repository of knowledge and experience

The importance of grandparents is often underrated. For starters, they come with decades of hands-on experience in parenting compare to us. From dealing with temperamental toddlers to moody teenagers, they have gone through it all. It is always comforting to know that you have your parents or your partner’s parents to reach out to for parental advice on a tricky situation, whether it is coming up with natural cures for a fever or home remedies for a cough and cold. They also come with the added benefit of knowing how to handle your child as they have interacted with them, and you or your partner, since birth.

An anchor of support

Being a parent, it is a no-brainer that supporting your child through thick and thin is one of the primary rules of parenting, and who can provide better emotional and physical support than a loving grandparent? In today’s fast-paced world, children are often confronted with many life-changing situations like settling into a new preschool or even the sudden loss of a loved one. Knowing that you have a comforting grandparent to bank on is a blessing in disguise as grandparents only understand the language of love and encouragement.

Learning important life lessons

As the saying goes, the most valuable lessons in life are free. Grandparents are the best teachers when it comes to learning valuable lessons like giving charity, being polite or even basic etiquettes like being respectful to your neighbours. They shower your kids with love but also know when to pull strings when the going gets tough. Additionally, grandparents are often known to entertain children with stories of family history with a valuable lesson, in the end, accompanied by a good laugh and occasional tears of joy. Grandparents are so important in a child’s life to teach many important life lessons in their early time.

A break from technology and gadgets

Today’s digital age sure has spoilt us for choice with a range of devices for our convenience and an app for literally every action we perform. However, the downfall of this is that children often resort to digital gadgets like smartphones and tablets to entertain themselves and keep them occupied. However, the truth remains that no matter how informative or educational the movies or online games are, they are ultimately harming your child’s eyes and curbing their mental development.

Also read: The Best Guide To Screen Time

importance of grandparents in our life
Even if parents make their peace with digital gadgets and resort to them to comfort their children, grandparents are known to be staunch believers in keeping children away from too much technology. They will encourage children to adopt the creative methods of keeping busy like painting, helping around in the kitchen, connecting with Mother Nature or even just having a hearty conversation on the good-old rocking chair.

Also read: Screen Time: How Much is too Much?

A balance between strict and lenient parenting

The importance of grandparents often lies in the fact that they strike a balance in your child’s life, especially when the child is looking for a much-needed break from worldly competition. As parents, we tend to make up a strict schedule for our children to teach them discipline and time management. However, grandparents, on the other hand, nurture the child in them and let them bend the rules a little bit, coining the phrase – what happens in grandma’s house, stays in grandma’s house. They know when your child needs a time-out but also ensure the little one does not get too comfortable during the break. This way, your child will also be able to cherish these childhood memories and share them with their children and grandchildren, as the vicious circle of life comes to a full.

A sense of purpose for grandparents

The beauty of grandparents is that they love doing what they do. They see your children as an extension of you and are happy to help raise them. It also keeps them active and energised along with the added benefit of having a little angel to give them company and share their life stories and experiences with. Additionally, spending time with your child pushes them to come up with creative ideas to keep the little one busy and helps them think outside of the box, stimulating their mental health in the process.

With all these reasons, it is safe to say that the importance of grandparents in your child’s life is much more than you can fathom. Living in a multigenerational household can be highly beneficial for your child, your partner, you as an individual and your child’s grandparents. At KLAY Schools, we understand this emotion by encouraging and celebrating families of all sizes as a critical aspect to make children emotionally stable and ready to face the world.

Closer to our roots

The saying goes “Interest is more precious than the principal” The name Grandparents itself emanates an immense feeling of ‘love’. Their love for their grandchildren is unconditional at all times. The presence of grandparents is invaluable in the life of a child.

A child who has grandparents as a caregiver in addition to parents will be more affectionate, more deeply rooted in culture and traditions and more family driven. The family culture is taken forward in terms of cuisine, mother tongue, tradition, heritage and all such things.

Grandparents help children stay close to their roots by inculcating the values and traditions they possess and follow. The stories they relate help them feel secure about belonging

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