The bond between children and their grandparents is very special. There are many benefits to this type of link. Therefore, it is important to foster a close relationship between the child and her grandparents. Children spending time with grandparents is the only way to achieve it. Parents should encourage their children to bond with their grandparents by setting times for them to visit their grandparents, having grandparents babysit for them, inviting grandma and grandpa to vacations, etc. Every effort should be made to establish a close bond between children and their grandparents because studies have shown that grandparents can have a very positive influence on children’s behavior and social development.
One of the benefits of children spending time with grandparents is the extended support they will gain from this bond. The support of the family nucleus, that is, siblings and parents, is great and of course necessary. However, additional support is always beneficial. For example, if there is a problem between children and their parents or siblings, they may turn to their grandparents for help. The grandparents can then help defuse the growing tension between members of the nuclear family. In this way, the grandparents act as confidants for the children and, in fact, strengthen the family unit.
This is especially important for children of single or divorced parents. Spending time with the grandparents of these children has been linked to greater social skills and fewer behavior problems. This is because grandparents can be seen as confidants and great sources of comfort for children in these types of situations. Bonding with grandparents helps children, especially children in single-parent homes or in divorce situations, adjust better and also learn to deal with other difficult situations.
Spending time with grandparents can also help strengthen family values in children. This is because they often have stories to tell about their family history, which often creates a sense of family pride in children. Grandparents also tend to have more free time than parents and therefore are able to spend more quality time with their grandchildren, engaging in different hobbies and activities together, and most importantly positive ones. If they spend positive quality time with their grandparents, this means that they are not engaging in all the destructive activities that children are pressured to engage in. Therefore, grandparents can be great role models for their children and can play a very important role in their children’s lives.