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South Central NE | I have noticed some of you posting about your relationship with your grandkids through the months. I didn't want to hi jack another person's thread so I waited awhile to post. We have 6 grandkids. The youngest is 2 years old and is quite a bit younger than the others because our youngest son waited to marry and then they struggled with fertility. But from our point of view it was well worth the wait! The oldest is 23 and in the middle of her masters studies. Here is how we have handled being grandparents:
1. We contributed to a 529 plan as each grandchild was born. It's not huge but might incentivize college and buy them some books.
2. We tried to be at every activity whether sports, music, or academic. It's important to them so it's important to us.
3. We text with them regularly. Learn to text because that's how they communicate.
4. We text before every activity to wish them well. For instance my grandson is a college thrower so I text him copies of Hans and Frans videos and wish him well before meets.
5. Pray for them daily. Safety, success, and that they will enjoy love, joy and peace throughout their lives.
6. Camping together- we are an outdoor family. Find something you all can enjoy together.
7. Grangma has a Cookie and Candy Day when they make sweets. I am a sampler.
8. For Christmas they get a boot (rather then a stocking) with random cheap gag gifts. Of course they get better stuff too but they have more fun with the boots.
9. As they each attain driving age we have the Confirmation of the Fuzzy Dice. A pair of dice and a funny page of phrases of words that rhyme with dice. They participate in the reading. And they love it.
10. Each one gets a one page letter when they graduate HS. On nicer paper it includes some memories and 8 points they need to remember for life. Most of them framed them.
11. Once each year we get all of them together for a Fine Dining Experience. It's a candlelight dinner on fine china. It's usually 4 or 5 course meal of their chosen ethnicity. They choose which one ahead of time. They dress nicely, stay off the phone and can bring a date. Each has a unique to them menu card in the language of the ethnic cuisine. The conversation is really interesting and cool. They all really enjoy this and always ask when the next one will be. We have done 4 so far.
These are the things we are doing with our grandkids. So far it's working and we seem to have a great relationship with each one. Communication is a big part of it. We want them to be a part of our lives as long as we are here.
I'd love to hear what some of you are doing to stay a part of your grandkids lives too. So please chime in!
Sorry for the lengthy post!
Edited by Irrigate NE 2/6/2025 11:16
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Grandkids
