Pages

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Interview #4 Grandma L

Grandma L has three kids, seven grandkids and two great grandkids. She is French and moved to the US when she was just twelve with her mother.  Here advice was:

Balance:
You don't want to be too strict. Her husband was very strict and she was the counterbalance to that in her family.  She also has one son who spoils the kids. They get whatever they ant.  You have to keep a balance between being strict enough but also not spoiling your kids.

Spend time with them:
She also advocates spending good quality time with your children.  Too often life gets in the way, but time with the kids is what they really crave and what will serve you and them well.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Interview #3: Grandpa

Grandpa has two sons, two step-daughters, and six grandkids.  While he doesn't usually like to give "advice," unless it's about wielding a hammer, saw or a gardening tool, he was kind enough to weigh in on parenting today.  Here are his nuggets of wisdom:

Learn from your parents
Grandpa watched how his father was around the home and he made a decision to be different with his own kids. If he caught himself being too rough with his kids, he stopped.

Read
Grandpa notes that some parents today read more to their kids. Looking back he would have read more to his kids and used TV less as a babysitter. He see parents today reading books from the library and it's great for the kids.

Best Memories - Find the Humor
The best memories - and therefore the things for us parents to look out for - were small moments that were magical or humorous.  One example was his son playing left field in little league, but really just being engrossed in the clover patch at his feet.  

Another of Grandpa's best memories was of his older son qualifying for a running race at age six. The win required driving from New Jersey all the way out to the tip of Long Island to compete in a race against other kids from the tri-state area.  When his son lined up at the start line, he reached out and hugged the other contestants.  When the gun went off, he ran fast, but then about half way through the race got captivated by the scenery and slowed to a walking pace.  You just have to smile at moments like that.