I am working up a blog post about Grandparents and their contributions in the lives of their grandchildren. There is a lot of controversy right now about grandparents rights to visit their grandchildren due to the prevalence of cut offs (being denied access to grandchildren). There are two sides to the story and I intend to address each side by presenting research and interpretation of said research in story form based upon my training and expertise as a qualitative researcher. I speak of quality because the quality of a child’s life is imperative and supersedes (in my opinion) the rights of adults. Babies, toddlers, children of all ages and stages, including teens are developing human beings who deserve a higher standard of care. Optimal environments are required for optimal development and this is the responsibility of all adults in the lives of children.
In the meantime my own grandchildren have moved some distance away and I like any other grandparent who understands this move with my head, cannot avoid the heartache of missing them. I was so grateful and blessed to have attended each of their births by the requests of my own adult children. I was able to hold them, massage them, bathe them, and sing to them as did my own grandmothers. Being in their early lives bonded us biochemically. This bond, I know from my own childhood experience, lives in our hearts and minds forever.
It was through sitting with my grief and sadness that I was inspired to create these videos of reading to my grandchildren. They so enjoyed being read to as toddlers and when they were in pre-school and even into elementary school before we parted. Additionally, they are growing up, as all children do, and developmentally, their brains are wired to socialize intensely with children who are age appropriate. I know it is time for me to recede into my own life and watch them fly!
I do believe that these videos will be something they can return to whenever they choose and come to treasure when they have families of their own. And in the meantime I think of children who may not know the experience of being read to by a grandmother. Maybe their grandparents died when they were young, or before they were born or their family is estranged for whatever reason. I hope that this is my gift to the world for all the amazing blessings that have been my honor to receive through becoming a grandmother and enjoying the amazing human beings I call my grandchildren.
Grandma will always love you and in my heart you will always be!
Visit my reading room every Wednesday Morning for a new Reading!
Soon I will post a schedule of Live Streaming!
Enjoy!
Click here to enter Grandma’s Reading Room
