Help with Grandparenting

 Many people are quite happy to learn about grandparenting as they go along - learning by experience just as most of learnt how to be a parent. However, there are also lots of us who like to read about being a grandparent and to learn about it from our reading. If you are one of the latter group, there is a wealth of information out there for you, both on the internet and on the printed page.

The first thing to tell you about is the Grandparents' Association. This is a voluntary organisation that exists to give advice of all kinds to grandparents. The website provides some very interesting statistics (such as the fact that 60% of child care in the country is provided by grandparents, who save the economy approximately ?4billion per annum). The association provides help with all sorts of issues and problems, arranges events and publishes a wide range of articles on the website. Have a look at it and you might even be tempted to volunteer for it!

Grandparents sometimes get involved with teaching their grandchildren in an informal way, usually by reading to them and with them. Take a look at Grandma's Stories for some fun books that we can read to them and that also give ideas for activities and places to visit.

Another good website to look at is called Proud Grandparents. This site provides lots of articles for grandparents on a whole range of topics under sections such as Finance, Having Fun, Making Memories and a whole range of others, too.

For Parents By Parents is another useful website that concentrates on the relationship side of grandparenting, including the relationship between grandparents and their children. We cover this to a certain extent in this Guide (Striking the Right Balance) and this website has some interesting comments by people who have experienced it.

There is a nice website called Seniors Network. Here you can read lots of information about many different aspects of grandparenting including bonding with grandchildren and the top 6 mistakes! It's quite light-hearted and amusing, especially the page on 'What is a Grandparent?' You'' be surprised at how some grandchildren see grandparents!

Laterlife has some pages dedicated to grandparents. Go to the Grandchildren page to see what's there. There is advice on organising a grandchild's party and links to various articles about the joys and tribulations of being a grandparent. If you click here you can see the results of a survey that found out what are the favourite activities of grandparents with their grandchildren.

For a really good, comprehensive website on grandparenting, go to Grannynet. This is an excellent site through which you can contribute to a lively and interesting forum and where you can find a wealth of interesting and useful information about grandparenting. They are producing a Grandparents' Charter, with which they need your help, so take a look and join in.

 There is an amazing number of books on grandparenting, some of which are shown on the pages of this Guide. They're all on the Amazon website and if you click on the image of the book it will show you more details about it; you can, of course, also buy all the books from Amazon.

There are many more than are shown on these pages and if you go to the 'Grandparents' section of Amazon you can see the wide range that's available. There are serious ones, amusing ones and ones that would be useful to keep as reference material. Have a look and make your choice.

Most of us probably think that being a grandparent comes naturally - and it probably does. However, a little bit of help is always useful and with so much of it being free we should take advantage of the assistance that is out there.

Now read the rest of this guide by clicking on the links in the box. If you have any grandparenting experiences that you would like to share, please do so through the feedback form or by going to our Forum.