HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!
On Being a Grandparent
Sept. 10, 2023
Welcome to the age of the grandparents! As global life expectancy rates increase, the number of children women are having has fallen, resulting in the highest ratio of living grandparents to grandchildren in history. That’s great news because research from the National Institutes of Health shows caring for a grandchild is associated with enhanced cognitive function. How is grandparenting different in 2023? We asked a small group of the Growing Bolder community, to find out what they enjoy, what they’re learning, how they’re different from their grandparents or their own parents in this role, and what their hopes and concerns are for their grandchildren. Most agreed, being a grandparent is even more joyful than they expected, and opened their hearts even more than loving their own children did. “Before becoming a grandparent, I would hear others declare more love for their grandchildren than their own,” Delores Thomas said. 44
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Fall 2023 Digest
“I would always say, ‘There is no way!’ What a surprise! I now proclaim the same thing from the rooftop!” Many noted the joy of not having as much responsibility with their grandchildren – the ability to have fun without as many worries. They see themselves as more hands-on with their grandchildren than previous generations and several wished the media would represent that more. “They should show grandparents being more active with their grandkids,” Dondi Sanchez said. “I spend a lot of time playing with them, biking or skateboard riding, going out to lunch or dinner, and playing with them in the pool.” For most, the relationships they share with their grandchildren are closer than those they had with their own grandparents. “My grandparents did not play a role in my childhood. They lived far away and seemed much more aged than my wife and I are at this stage in our lives,” David Steele said.
Photo by LumiNola via Getty Images
Nana, Pop, Mimi, Glam...Whatever they are called, they’re ready to answer