How important is it for my children to spend time with their grandparents?

Kids benefit in many ways from regularly spending time with their grandparents. And those relationships—even if they aren’t exactly the way you’d like them to be—are definitely worth supporting.

Grandparents can provide many important benefits to a child. They can be a source of love, affection and encouragement. This helps a child learn trust. 

Grandparents can:

• Give the gift of time and undivided attention. That means doing something the child wants to do and at the child’s pace.
• Teach skills and let the child try new things. Grandparents are often willing to let a child “help” with a task.
• Act as a cheerleader for the child, praising and celebrating achievements both big and small.
• Provide an important link to family history. They tell stories about other generations and what a parent was like as a child. This gives the child a sense of identity and belonging.
• Offer older children advice and explain ways to meet life’s challenges.