Today, very often, grandparents are middle-aged, healthy, strong, and still in the workforce. It is great news that life expectancy today is around 75 or 80 years old. It is bad news that quite often this means longer periods of disability.
Our grandparents/great-grandparents/great great grandparents...
- Have provided support to adult children and grandchildren
- Have helped in emergencies (health problems, death, unemployment, or divorce)
- Have taken the grandchildren for a few days
- May have taken the role of a custodial grandparent, being a tremendous help to those kids of poorly functioning parents.
What we can do for them now:
- Keep your relationship with them alive
- Help children get closer to their grandparents (it benefits the children and the grandparents)
- Actively provide help and assistance.
- Help them prepare some meals or cleaning the house
- Help them with shopping, grooming, financial management
- Provide encouragement and support to a sibling/relative who is taking the caregiver role to a grandparent.
