The Importance of Grandparents

THE IMPORTANCE OF GRANDPARENTS

It has just been a few weeks since my grandfather passed away and it is important to highlight the importance that grandparents play in a child's life. physically, spiritually and emotionally healthy for children to have their grandparents around to learn about values, family history and to nurture their spiritual growth.

The relationship between a grandchild and his grandparents is enormous and plays a crucial role in a child's behavioral, social, spiritual and cognitive development. Now days, many women are starting to have children at a later stage in life and many grandparents, due to health conditions are unable to participate in the natural dynamics of this valuable relationship. The benefits of this interaction is reciprocal. Grandchildren are not the only ones to benefit from this relationship and it is no surprise that it is directly linked to fewer depressive symptoms for both parties according to the American Sociological Association. This finding not only has health implications but grandparents serve as role models, teachers, nurturers, providers and mentors to their grandchildren. It is

VALUES

My dad's father was a very strict man but I learnt about respect, patience, politeness and honor from him the hard way. He had a very high regard for these values and would not hesitate to enforce them by force to the point that I was always very conscious of my behavior around him. It was some sort of fear that forced me to always be at my best behavior regardless of how tempting it was to follow some of my cousins into disaster. His "rule through fear" implementation of discipline made me more receptive to understand the point he was trying to make us understand. It was that bit of fear that allowed many of us to always greet all of our family members as we entered his house, it was that bit of fear that kept us quiet and sitting still at the table when we were having dinner and it was that bit of fear that showed us his desire to teach us respect, honor, manners and politeness regardless of his strict methodology.

My kids  in the other hand are much luckier than I was since their grandpa does not use the same methodology as his fathers'. Their grandpa actually learnt from his father-grandchild interaction and implemented a better technique of "love first" along with my mom. My parents unconditional love for their grand-children is immediately reflected in their involvement to be part of their lives. The constant encouragement, support and advice is being absorbed by my kids as little sponges making them more confident, secure and with a solid sense of identity that nobody can take away.
They are constantly learning and growing emotionally, physically and spiritually when they are with their grandparents. My eldest son is always challenged to think rationally by his grandparents, his is also challenged to express his feelings and his thoughts. My daughter is still a little girl to reap all the benefits of having their grandparents around but both are always encouraged to grow and develop a relationship with God.


FAMILY HISTORY

Grandparents are a very direct branch of our family tree and grandchildren can learn valuable information from their grandparents' life. I was lucky to have my mother's dad around until he was 85 years of age in 2013. He lived in Mexico but would often come to the US for a month or two. Out of the few times he came earlier this year, I was able to learn more about him and his past. My wife and I took him out to dinner on his last visit, and I just felt like that would be one of the last opportunities for me to learn about him an ask him questions. I was intrigued by his ability to recall dates and specific moments with detail that he had not talked about in years. This time, I wanted to learn more about him, in particular about his career as a business owner. He shared details about the times when he was doing very well in Mexico city, as he owned a car dealership, small businesses and multiple commercial and residential buildings. I learned about his successes, his mistakes, his regrets and the things that led him to his financial pitfall. It was one of the most interesting conversations I have ever had about anybody's past. My mom told me a few days after, that my grandpa was very happy about having this conversation with me and she thanked me as if I was doing my grandpa a favor. In reality, my grandfather did me the favor for sharing these things that help me appreciate the ups and downs of life. I even learned about the real estate market and how the market cycle of that time was the main cause for my grandfather's financial ruin but most importantly, I got to know him better. It is the duty of grandparents to share their knowledge down to their future generations but its actually a bigger duty for grandchildren to be hungry for this knowledge, to search, investigate, question, learn and examine our past to understand who we are, where we come from and the experiences our ancestors lived so we can make better choices.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

One of the most important roles as a grandparent involves the development of a spiritual lifestyle in their grandchildren. As grandparents get older, their appreciation for the spiritual aspects of life grows with their ability to free themselves away from the everyday busyness of our society. Being in the middle of a busy society has allowed grandparents to focus more time and effort into the development of their grandchildren spiritual growth assisting many busy parents stuck in the busyness of the rat race. I was fortunate to have a mother that focused her time on more than cognitive, physical, emotional and behavioral development. She also focused her time on our spiritual growth with a significant influence and assistance from her mother. My grandma reinforced and supplemented my mother's teachings of spiritual growth. She helped my mom teach us the spirit of love, tolerance, compassion, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, kindness and many more. She was an every day imitator of Jesus Christ in every thing she did. I remember my sister and I would often argue in front of her and she would always turn around and say; "why don't you two play a game instead?". We would answer in agreement as she'd give us instructions saying "I suggest you play a game to see who can say the nicest things about the other". My sister and I would turn to each other in disagreement, shaking our heads and walking away while saying "we don't want to play." My grandmother was a blessing in the lives of many people always preaching the gospel but rarely with the help of words.


Grandparents play a crucial role as spiritual leaders for their grandchildren cultivating fruits of the spirit and a stronger relationship with God. Grandparents really are "grand". Sharing and cultivating these relationships improve connections between generations that benefit both the old and the young alike.
If you are blessed by having both your children and parents around, make a difference as the liaison for both generations and make your parents feel young and healthy with their grandchildren while your children learn from the wisdom of your parents.