Practicing, "Bringing Generations Together"
Sharing ourselves with younger generations keeps us young.
Childtrends reports 47% of all grandparents provide child care
assistance with young grandchildren living nearby and a growing
number of grandfathers are getting involved as well. I found
this fact rather surprising, a higher number of grandparents who
are employed and live close to their grandchildren provide child
care than those who are retired. Childtrends also reported that
approximately 1 in 5 grandparents are being paid for their help.
What do all these information mean? Families need the assistance
of family and close friends and we can all benefit from time
together. More than one of our friends who are grandparents have
made the decision that they want to live close to their
grandchildren, sold their houses and moved closer to their
families. Another couple reported taking their son and five
other young adults to the Boundary Waters. Most of these teenage
children had never been fishing or had the experience of eating
fresh fish over the open fire. This past month, I enjoyed the
opportunity of getting together with two of my son's, two of my
brothers, four of my cousins, my father and friends on a trip to
Lake Milac, MN. We spent the day on a launch, caught two fish
and had a wonderful time catching up on life experiences. Summer
is not over. There is still time for you to "Bring Generations
Together." Make plans now! If you have read or personally
experienced the benefits of spending time with children, we
would love to hear your story.