Grandparents: The good and the bad
Liz Atwood discusses grandparents in this week's Tween Tuesday:
I just got back from a South Dakota where I spent a week helping on an Indian reservation. My mother-in-law stayed with the kids.
And while there are not many parallels between my life and the life of typical Lakota Indian, I found that one thing we have in common is the role of the grandparents in teaching the children. Lakota grandparents traditionally are closely involved in teaching the children the customs of the tribe – stories, songs and crafts. Sometimes they are the ones who name the children.
While I was on the reservation with a group of volunteers from my church, my mother-in-law was back home taking care of my sons. She took them to the video game store, bought the younger one shoes and helped him memorize his multiplication tables.
Not everything was done as I would have done. I returned to find my older son had gotten in the habit of staying up until 3 a.m. and sleeping past noon. Neither boy did his summer reading, and she bought them video games that I wouldn't have bought.
But perhaps it is good that grandparents don’t treat their grandchildren the same way as parents do.
What do you think is the best part about having grandparents watch the kids? What’s the downside?
