The adolescence life is hard. Kids experience a lot of emotional and physical changes, and most often they need all the guidance they can get. When kids are younger, grandparents are the best people in the world. They run to you when parents don’t want to give in to what they want.  But teens are growing up. They are caught between childhood and adulthood. This will be the phase that they will prefer to spend most of their time with kids their own age. In a nutshell, grandparenting teenagers is quite a challenge. 

Grandparenting teenagers are one of the hardest and most enjoyable thingsCredits: Adobe Stock

Grandparenting Teenagers 101:

As grandparents, you don’t have to become obsolete. We all know that you want to make the best of family time with your grandchildren as much as possible.  Here are some of the ways to help you in grandparenting your teenage grandkids.

Be an active listener

Teenagers go through a lot and sometimes they need a willing ear to listen to them vent about how they feel. During this age, they have best friends but there are things that they only want to share with family. Since most of the teenagers are finding it hard to confide with their parents, they may always run to you, the grandparents. So, as a grandparent, listen to them. Let them nag about how boring their teacher was.

Bond with them

Teenagers are curious. One way of bonding with your teenage grandkid is to be open that you want to connect with them. Show them how you do things. Teach them how to bake cookies or knit a pullover. At the same time, welcome their ideas. You can even watch a chick flick or a baseball game with them on Saturdays. Spend time with them, time is important.

Let them teach you

Teenagers love it when you give them compliments. Let them teach you things that you don’t know. Be eager. Compliment them for their patience and for the time that they spent on teaching you. Don’t be the impatient grandma that gets irritated when they’re being taught.

Embrace technology

Teenagers are inclined to technology. They don’t typically use a cell phone to make calls, they text. Go ahead and buy a smartphone. Again, let them teach you how to use it. The main goal is for you to send them sweet loving messages every day. This will boost their confidence and know you’re always there for them.

Do not criticize how they look

When it comes to grandparenting teenagers, do not criticize their appearance as much as possible. Instead, compliment them. Suggest things in a positive way. Don’t let them feel like they are not good enough. Let them know how beautiful they are with their choice of clothing (after all, everyone has their own style).

Invite them on vacation

It can be fun having them around on vacation. This could also be exciting for your grandkids. Let them do pretty much what they want while they are spending their vacation with you. Teenagers love to eat. Cook something, prepare their favorite dish or bake their favorite pastry. Feed them while they are with you and for sure, they will be looking forward to the next vacation spent at your place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

DIY Projects for Boyfriend: Craft Gifts Your Geeky Boyfriend Will Love

DIY Projects for Boyfriend series provides you with ideas to DIY for your boyfriend! For our first article, we provide gift Ideas for your geeky boyfriend.

Fashion Mistakes That Grandparents Should Avoid to Look Younger

Fashion is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, and each generation makes…