Biggest life lessons your kids can learn on National Grandparents Day!

Grandparents may be the biggest spoilers in your child's life, but they do impart lessons that only the privilege of having lived the years can bring.

Passing on the wisdom

With the wisdom they’ve gained throughout the decades, your kid’s grandparents have life down to a science. They have learned to regard it with a positive attitude and even a sense of humor. Facing the dwindling years ahead, they have come to know that time passes quickly and that soon their grandchildren’s childhood will pass – thus, they embrace the time spent with them more fully.

Your kids will certainly benefit a lot from the bonding moments they share with their grandparents. Click "next" to find out what some of the biggest lessons kids can learn from them.

It’s good to be spoiled by grandparents

Why? Because this means that the family has a solid support system. Research has found that children who have involved grandparents often grow up better-adjusted than those who don’t.

Leaving it to the parents to be the disciplinarians, grandparents have the advantage of loving their grandkids unconditionally and assuring them that they’re loved no matter what. So when children – especially teenagers – have something they want to talk about but are too uncomfortable to approach their parents, the grandparents can lend that impartial ear.

Don’t sweat it

That’s not what a tiger mum would tell her kids, that’s for sure. But when it comes to the small stuff, grandparents have learned not to stress over it. They’ve lived life long enough to become masters of the art of practicality, weeding out the often self-inflicted stress while prioritizing what’s essential.

Grandma would say, "It’s okay," when she finds out her grandkid didn’t make it to the football team. Besides, the kid would probably benefit more from having more time to spend bonding with mum – and grandma! – at home and learning other equally useful skills like baking.

Stick true to your family and culture by upholding tradition

Grandparents are the guardians of tradition, both their family’s and culture’s. They can teach their kids the practices and values that have been followed for a long time and explain to them why they’re still relevant today. In turn, children may be more likely to uphold the tradition, as they it practiced by both their parents and grandparents, and teach their own kids in the future.

Never lose touch with your family roots

Grandparents are living time capsules – and their grandchildren will certainly learn a lot about what they know about their ancestry. By knowing more about where they came from, kids in turn build a stronger sense of identity and belonging. Besides, talking about relatives long gone can be a fun "time travelling" experience between grandparent and grandchild.

Life is a cycle

One of the hardest but greatest lessons kids will learn is that all things in life, including people who are dear to them, must come to pass. Death can be hard to understand and accept – but by spending the rest of their years with unfaltering gusto, grandparents show their grandkids that death is nothing to fear when life comes to its full circle.

Written by

Carla Perlas

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