grandparenting
grandma Hazel) and her sisters and brothers rallied around their father in helping with the younger children and their large farm. In the end those hard times taught them great life lessons. The six sisters all became remarkable teachers and the two brothers became successful famers and business leaders. All lived joyful lives. Instead of getting out your grandchildren’s favorite books at
The original test was given to four dozen families in the NYC area in the summer of 2001. They compared results with several psychological tests that the children took and then reached their intriguing conclusion: “The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self- esteem and the more successfully they believed their family functioned.” Then Mr. Feiler says, “An unexpected thing happened. Two months later was September 11, 2001. All those families experienced the same horrific terrorist attack!” The researchers went back to the same children and found that the ones who knew more about their families handled the stress of that event better. “They were more resilient in processing the effects of the stress created by that event.” So, it is knowing where they came from that can give our grandkids resilience and grit! One night while putting our ten-year-old twin grandsons, Oliver and Silas to bed, I (Linda) told them the story about their great-great-grandmother Ida. in 1920, the horrific Spanish influenza had found its way to Star Valley, Wyoming. Ida Weber, who had ten beautiful children was stricken and died at age 39, along with her little two-and-a-half-year-old and eight-month-old sons. The family was devasted! But the older children, including my mother (their great- ” “
and give them more grit as they tackle their own hard times! So, grandparents: instead of getting out your grandchildren’s favorite books at bedtime, start telling them your stories, your parent’s stories and stories about their own parents while they were growing up. Tell them at bedtime or at the dinner table or during road trips. If they live far away, email them a story or tell them a story on the phone. Tell them about good things that have happened as well as the hard things. It will help with the “I want everything” syndrome and it will become the foundation on which they can build some true grit! * The Entitlement Trap by Richard and Linda Eyre, Penguin Books, 2011
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bedtime, start telling them your stories…
The twins were impressed by this incredible story! Grandma Ida was one of those ancestors on their “ancestor wall” in their home which their mother had lovingly created a year before. They had been walking by her picture all that time, knowing only vaguely who she was or what had happened to her. Now they knew! Not all our stories have happy endings. They are “osculating stories” that teach the realities of good times and hard times, and they teach valuable lessons about the importance of decision and choices. In doing genealogical research, Richard and I have realized that there is much more to these people than their birth date and death date. The “dash” between those two dates contains invaluable stories for our children and grandchildren to internalize—and they can make our children and grandchildren more resilient, more self-confident
Richard and Linda Eyre’s parenting and life- balance books have reached millions and been translated into a dozen languages. As fellow Baby Boomers, their passion and their writing focus has now shifted to the joy of Grandparenting. Linda’s latest book is Grandmothering , Richard’s is Being a Proactive grandfather , and their latest co-authored book is Life in Full . All three of these are now on sale on Amazon.
48 GRANDP arenting
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