Love, Laughter, and Special Relationships
Grandparenting children with disabilities often creates special moments of love, joy, and laughter. Most of the grandparents we interviewed talk about wonderful times with all of their grandchildren, and with their grandchildren who have disabilities in p
- PDF / 207,486 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 40 Downloads / 189 Views
Love, Laughter, and Special Relationships
Grandparenting children with disabilities often creates special moments of love, joy, and laughter. Most of the grandparents we interviewed talk about wonderful times with all of their grandchildren, and with their grandchildren who have disabilities in particular. Many see grandparenting as one of life’s greatest joys. They emphasize how much mutual love and admiration they have with their grandchildren. Many have a lot of fun and share a lot of laughs. Though they do so to differing degrees, some appreciate how valuable their care work is for their families. A few say that disabilities have brought their families closer together. Nearly all treasure just how close they, and sometimes their partners, are with their grandchildren who have disabilities. They treasure their special relationships. It is important to remember that grandparenting is not for everyone. It can be hard, demanding, exhausting work. Some have no aptitude for, or interest in, caring for grandchildren. In this book, we have interviewed only those grandparents who are indeed providing care for grandchildren with disabilities. There would be another book, a different book entirely, about grandparents who have little or no contact with their grandchildren with disabilities. Here all of the grandparents are providing care, at various levels and amounts. Care work is a labor of love. The grandparents we interviewed tended to emphasize the easy, rather than the more difficult, times. They describe how the many challenges come with rewards of immeasurable value.
Rewards of Grandparenting Children with Disabilities Many grandparents exclaim just how much they love their grandchildren and their grandchildren love them back.1 About 70% of older Americans have at least one grandchild, two-thirds of grandparents see a grandchild at least once every two weeks, and more than 80% are in touch regularly through email, Skype, phone, or snail mail.2 Many grandparents have warm, close ties with their grandchildren and spend time sharing advice, family traditions, and family histories.3 Spending time © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 M. Harrington Meyer, Y. Abdul-Malak, Grandparenting Children with Disabilities, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39055-6_3
49
50
3 Love, Laughter, and Special Relationships
with grandchildren tends to improve emotional health, keep grandparents feeling younger, and provide a renewed sense of purpose.4 Grandparenting facilitates special relationships between grandparents and grandchildren. Many grandparents perceive affection as one of the best parts about being grandparents. Mansson’s (2016) qualitative research reveals that saying and hearing “I love you,” enjoying hugs and kisses, and giving social support and gifts are among the most cherished aspects of being a grandparent. Despite occasions of tears and frustrations, many grandparents find that moments spent with grandchildren are filled with laughter.5 This mutual attraction between grandchildren and grandparents may be amplified
Data Loading...
