The Secret to Being a Better Grandparent

What’s the secret to being a better grandparent? Is it respecting boundaries? (Key, but no secret.) Listening to your grandchildren and their parents? (Also vital, but also no secret.) Getting down on the floor and playing with the grandkids? Showing interest in their lives? Supporting parents?

These are all indications of a good grandparent, but none are the secret to becoming a better grandparent.

To become a better grandparent, you have to know what your superpower is.
Before you roll your eyes and decide to stop reading, let me explain!

Did you know the eye has a literal blind spot? It doesn’t hamper our vision because the brain fills in the spot by referencing what is around it. This has always fascinated me, but what does that have to do with superpowers and becoming a better grandparent?

Actually, a lot.

We have the same sort of blind spots in our behaviors. We might not ever notice how something we do negatively affects other people, because our brain adjusts our perception to hide any imperfections. Likewise, we might not see our own strengths because we are focused on the stuff around them, leaving our powers unilluminated in the blind spot.

Knowing our strengths and weaknesses is especially important when it comes to the relationships we value most. And when it comes to being a better grandparent, our strengths can be superpowers. We all have those secret superpowers, even if we can’t recognize them because of the blind spot effect.

When we do recognize our strengths, we may not think of them as either secret or powerful. Sometimes we need help understanding how to channel our powers so they are a force for good. For example, we might know instinctively that we are empathetic. But we may not know how valuable a trait that is, or how it can sometimes get in the way!

For grandparents, our superpowers can make the difference in how well we maintain loving relationships and navigate boundaries. Without those two things, we can’t create the lifetime of memories we hope to have with our grandchildren.

Being a better grandparent comes down to this: tapping into your personal grandparent superpower and learning how to use it effectively. So how do you know what that power is and understand how to make it work for you, not against you? I’m so glad you asked!

We’ve created a fun little quiz to help you figure out what your superpower is! If you take it, your results will share valuable insight into how your superpower can make the difference between being a good grandparent and being a better one.

Want to find out how to be a better grandparent? Take the quiz now!​