Baby Boomer Grandparents

Baby boomers seem to be ever youthful. They also have a great passion for living. They seem to have arrived on earth with a vision and a mission of creating a different type of society. Baby boomers have exhibited immense initiative in all aspects of life, and their activities have had a great impact on American society, so much so that the America of today does not even remotely resemble the America of the fifties or sixties.

Life has challenged baby boomers in a number of ways. Baby boomer parents created a different type of bond with their children. They participated in the lives of their kids more than any generation of the past. Baby boomer parents tried to be not only a parent, but also best friends to their children. Though the results of this are not completely positive, children did value family life and emulate the qualities of their parents much more than the younger generations of the past did. For baby boomers, parenting was a great mission.

When baby boomers became grandparents, they understood the meaning of having grandchildren. This generation, which had resisted the onset of adulthood itself, must have found it difficult indeed to accept the realities of aging. However, they quickly accepted the roles of wise and kind grandparents. They played a great role not only in the lives of their grandchildren, but also in the lives of their children by offering their insight and guidance on various matters related to life.

Children view grandparents differently. They love grandparents and enjoy any opportunity to visit them even if it is for the simple reason that grandmother had baked a fresh batch of cookies. Sitting on grandfathers lap and listening to his stories or simply enjoying his company is a part of childhood that all children enjoy and cherish in their memories when they grow up. Even baby boomer grandparents enjoy these moments of intimacy with their grandchildren.

Somebody had once written a book titled If I Knew Being a Grandparent Was This Much Fun, I Would Have Done it First. In many ways, being a grandparent is a much more fulfiling experience than being a parent. Children enjoy listening to the wise words of their grandparents. Life with grandparents also makes them feel secure, something that life with parents doesn’t. On the laps of grandparents, grandchildren learn that it is possible to achieve success in life and that the fun does not cease even when you are old and a grandparent. Children inuitively know that there a number of life values and lessons to be learnt on the laps of grandparents. Throughout their lives, they nurture the lessons thus learned from an elderly person.

Baby boomers enjoy this new role just as they enjoyed their role as parents. They accepted the challenge of parenthood with a passion that almost redefined the concept of parenting. They have brought that same passion to their role as grandparents. Baby boomers can transmit their passion for life, their love and commitment for family life to their children and grandchildren. Thus they become the greatest gift a child can ever have, a wise grandpa and grandma who not only love them, but are also great fun to be with.

As baby boomer grandparents, the time you spend with your grandchildren is a wonderful time to pass on the wisdom of half a century to the younger generation. Children need their parents guidance and knowledge; simultaneously, parents also tend to be teachers and strict disciplinarians. Relationship with grandparents is much easier and stress free, and children can really open themselves to their grandparents. No wonder they view grandparents as sources of love and wisdom.