Grandparents have a God-given responsibility to be a positive influence in the lives of their grandchildren, and most of them are more than willing to do so.
According to Eric Wiggen, author of The Gift of Grandparenting, here are the seven most important things grandparents can do:
1. Become a friend to your grandchildren. Play games together.
2. Deepen that friendship as your grandchildren get older. Take time to listen when they talk. Support them through all the ups and downs of life.
3. Don’t fret about mistakes you made as a parent. “[B]y keeping us alive to enjoy our grandchildren, the Lord is giving us a ministry to help fill in these gaps in our imperfect child-rearing.”
4. Realize that your grandchildren will need you more than ever if their parents separate or divorce.
5. Show unconditional love. Set guidelines when they’re entrusted to your care. But criticize gently. “Even as we wouldn’t question another adult’s toupee or hairdo, we avoid personal remarks about our emerging adult-teens whose souls may have been torn and trampled already in the school gauntlet or by conflicts at home.”
6. If necessary, be willing to provide foster or adoptive care for your grandchildren.
7. Always pray. Dr. James Dobson says: “Pray for your sons and daughters, who are raising children in a very difficult time. It is not easy to be moms or dads today. Help them teach their children about Jesus, about heaven and hell, and about the principles of right and wrong. I can’t tell you how many Christians have told me they accepted Christ as adults because of the early training given to them by their grandparents.”
