NO REGRETS GRANDPARENTING???
Why, you might ask, is there a brand new section in the Updated and Expanded Edition of “No Regrets Parenting” on GRANDparenting? Well…since publication of the first edition of “No Regrets Parenting,” hundreds of grandparents have written to me (you can too, at www.harleyrotbart.com.) Some have asked for advice on parenting their adult kids and in-law kids; some have complained about how their adult kids are raising their own kids and told me they’ve used the book as a “tactful” way of telling their kids to make better use of their time with their young kids; and still others have asked for help entertaining their grandkids on visits, especially when feeling less energy for playing than they had the first time around.
Grandparenting presents unique challenges and, in contrast to parenting, time management is lower on the list of those challenges. Many grandparents have earned more free time as they’ve gotten older, either because of retirement or greater job flexibility than when they were younger, and would love to spend as much of that free time as they can with their grandchildren. Grandparents often see their “end date” more acutely than when they were younger and want to spend as many of their days enjoying quality time – and what could be better quality time than time with grandchildren??? That can lead to conflict and tension with your adult kids whose schedules, as extensively discussed in the earlier chapters of this book, are more complicated and tightly choreographed.
In the “No Regrets GRANDparenting” section of the new book, I offer some thoughts on the four areas of grandparenting I believe to be the most important for continuing a No Regrets relationship with your kids, and developing a memorable, meaningful, and lasting No Regrets relationship with your grandkids. I hope you’ll take a look!