Five Ways Grandparents Bridge the Generation Gap

Jaipi Sixbear

Some savvy grandparents have no trouble bridging the generation gap between themselves and their grand-kids. They seem to have everything under control. Others have trouble relating to their grand-kids at all. Are you one of the latter kind? Don't feel bad. After all, you're two generations apart. How can you bridge that two generation gap five ways?

1. Play games that never grow old. Some things never change. Those are the things that bridge the generation gap best. Kids still play baseball, football and soccer. They still run races and play hide and go seek. Little girls still love Barbie dolls. Little boys still play with trucks and cars. Find common ground with your grand-kids by doing things with them you did as a kid.

2. Show them that old-fashioned can be fun. Is it summertime? Make homemade ice cream. Have watermelon seed spitting contests. Have a potato sack race. In the winter, try sledding, tobogganing or ice skating with the grand-kids. Show them how to build a real snow fort and make snow angels. Teach girls to crochet and boys to build model airplanes. Or the other way around, if they show an interest. You'll have a blast reliving your childhood while bridging the generation gap.

3. Let the grand-kids choose activities. Don't be afraid to try new things. The grand-kids were good sports when you taught them about old fashioned fun. Now it's your turn to be flexible. Learn to play video games. Yes, even the ones where you're the controller. You'll stay in shape. Nobody expects you to keep up with the grand-kids completely. The point is to have a good time.

4. Get technically savvy. Learn to Skype. Use Facebook to stay in touch. Get a phone with texting, photo, and video capabilities. Your grand-kids live in a world of ever changing technology. So do you. Learning to adapt to that swiftly changing world will quickly bridge the generation gap between you and the grand-kids.

5. Forget about quality time, just give them your time, period. It really doesn't matter what you choose to do with the grand-kids. The important thing is to do it. Bridging the generation gap means forming a close bond with your grand-kids. The only way to do that is to give them your undivided attention as often as possible.

More from Jaipi:

Five Reasons Every Grandparent Should Be on Facebook

Five Things Your Grand-Kids Do Better - Just Admit It

Five Benefits of Grand-Parenting from a Savvy Grandma

Published by Jaipi Sixbear - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle

This award winning web writer is co-owner of several writing websites. She's a featured parenting contributor on Yahoo! Shine and Yahoo! Voices. She enjoys helping fellow writers maintain a positive mindset...  View profile

1 Comments

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  • Sandy James1/13/2012

    Great ideas!

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