5 Things I’ve Learned from Watching My Parents Interact with My Kids

We recently had the pleasure of having my parents visit for a little over a week. My kids adore their Grandma and Mebop (their name for grandpa), so it’s always special when we can all be together.

As I watched my parents interact with my kids during this last visit, I realized that there are a number of life lessons that I can learn from their interactions. Here are 5 of these lessons.

Life lessons from how grandparents interact with grandkids

• It’s often the little things in life that bring the most joy. When my parents come to visit, they always bring gifts for my kids. They may bring books, clothes, toys, snacks, etc. Some of these items are super cheap (both in quality and in monetary worth), while others are more expensive. My kids have no concept of what various items are worth to other people, they just know what the items are worth to them. They almost always gravitate towards the simple, little things. During this last visit, they loved these squishy stress balls that my parents gave them. They played with these more than the new books and craft supplies that my parents also brought. During past visits, my kids have preferred things like bubble blowers, jingle bell necklaces, balls, etc. over gifts that were much larger and more expensive. Large, expensive things aren’t necessarily more valuable; we often find the most joy in the little things.
• Time is the best gift. Though my kids enjoy these gifts that their grandparents give them, if they had to choose between the gifts or time with their grandparents (reading books together, having grandma paint their toenails, building something together out of blocks, etc.), they’d choose the time over the gifts any day. Yes, gifts are fun, but nothing makes us feel special and loved like quality time.
• Take time to stop and smell the roses. As a mom, I feel like I’m almost always rushed. There are so many things to get done: laundry, changing diapers, grocery shopping, taking my kids to the park, cleaning the bathroom, etc. When my parents hang out with my kids, they don’t have to do all of these things. They just get to sit and play. Subsequently, they take things slowly. They have time to “stop and smell the roses.” My parents will take my kids on a walk and they’ll take time to watch the birds and squirrels. They’ll read books for hours. They’ll play silly games. They’ll sit together talking about nonsensical things. My kids thrive when they do this. My parents thrive when they do this. We have a deeper appreciation of the world around us when we take time to really notice and enjoy what’s before us.
• Dessert tastes better with a little extra whipped cream. You know how grandparents are when it comes to treats. They seem to think that bigger is better. We eat more treats and dessert during the few weeks of the year that they are here than we do during all of the other weeks of the year combined! My dad uses numerous idioms, so I find it apropos to say that he likes to go “whole hog” when giving dessert to the kids. If you’re going to put whipped cream on strawberry shortcake, then you might as well put a lot. If you’re going to have pie, then you might as well put ice cream on it. He’s right. For most of us, there’s no harm in enjoying an occasional dessert. We might as well enjoy it.
• Video chatting and social media can never take the place of face-to-face interactions. We use Skype to visit with my parents each week, so my kids do get to “see” their grandparents each week. Likewise, I sometimes share pictures and anecdotes on social media. However, I can clearly see the limitations of these technologies when we are together. There’s more laughter when we’re together. There are hugs when we’re together. My parents can tickle their grandkids when we’re together. They can play hide-and-seek when we’re together. I’m so glad we have video chatting and social media because they are helpful, but nothing will ever take the place of face-to-face visits.

I’m so grateful that my kids love spending time with their grandparents, that my parents love spending time with their grandkids, and that we do get opportunities to spend time together. It’s a bonus that I get to learn these things from the interactions I see during these visits!

Have you learned anything from watching grandparent-grandkid interactions? If so, please share these lessons with us!

Shared at the following:

Encouraging Hearts and Home, Over the Moon, and Busy Monday.