What are grandparent’s to-do with their grandchildren
anymore?!
We were sitting in our local coffee shop when we overheard
this question being thrown out into the universe.
We put down our papers and listened for the answer and to our
utter amazement and horror no answer was forth coming.
The table full of grandparents (or so we assume) went on to
complain how all their grandchildren want to do is play on their electronics,
and so on.
We wondered out loud to each other, what those grandparents
are doing when their grandchild come to visit?
Watching TV?
Cleaning the house?
On their own computers?
Sitting reading?
Sleeping in their chairs?
The above activities are solitary play activities and when two
people are in the same room engaged in solitary activity it is called parallel
play. Neither party is influencing the
other nor are they learning from each other.
We think this is the question that was really asking.
How do grandparents interact with their grandchildren anymore?
How do we engage our grandchildren in cooperative activities?
The first step is to know what your grandchildren or children
for that fact are interested in and to get interested in that yourself.
We find that trips to our antique shops, museums are a good
place to stumble upon some common ground with our grandchildren and talking to
them about our childhood, what we enjoyed doing.
The library as Dr. Seuss illustrates is a wonderful place to find
common ground. In reading to each other
and/or talking about books you have read hours can pass quickly in this
cooperate activity.
We don’t think that the problem is electronics or the
internet.
We wonder if we all have become too comfortable with parallel
activities when what we need to be mindful of is creating cooperative activates.
Doing things with our children and grandchildren
instead of doing different things in the same room or house.
Grandma Snyder
©2013-2016 twosnydergirls
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