Your Grandparent Superpower is Empathy!
Deep. Endless. Blissful. Magical.
These are some of the words grandparents used to describe their love for their grandchildren. You know even these words don’t capture how you feel about the little person you’ve been blessed with. Your grandbaby has changed your life for the better. They are teaching you a whole new kind of love, and you are finding a million ways to show them how much they mean to you.
The time you spend on this baby isn’t selfless—the joy it brings you is immense. Each smile fills your heart and soul in a way almost nothing else can. The love they offer is so uncomplicated!
The payoff for each small thing you do seems completely out of proportion for the effort you extend.
So why is empathy such a powerful gift for grandparents?
Your love and compassion can create the security a child needs.
A grandparent can be the safe place for a child, providing a deep connection and protection from life’s bumps. Research shows that children who have a loving grandparent in their lives have higher self-esteem and lower risks of depression and other mental illnesses.
Your empathy truly is a superpower: you can be the safe place for a child, providing them with a loving connection and protection from life’s bumps.
A word of warning: The depth of your compassion can make it hard to maintain boundaries and can cause unnecessary worries.
Luckily, now that you’ve found More Than Grand, you’ve got a partner to help you create a plan to ensure your success.
Your quiz results are designed to help you capitalize on your empathy to support your growing family.
Your empathy makes you an incredible blessing to your family. They are lucky to have you on this journey! You look forward to leaving a legacy of love and happy memories. Every snuggle and “I love you” will feel like riches beyond measure, and your heart will swell as you watch your own child become a parent.
Your challenge: educating yourself and working with parents to make sure you are all on the same page about your role. Empathetic grandparents are more susceptible to resentment and burnout, two things that can be avoided by setting boundaries from the start.
As soon as you see that ultrasound picture or get that phone call, it’s time to talk about how you can be a supportive partner to parents and become an integral part of your grandchild’s life.
Don’t let your superpower take you down.
Based on your quiz results, you probably have some of the common grandparent worries. You hope you can keep up with all the new information that’s available. You may fear you may somehow “mess up” with parents. You might be afraid distance or time will keep you from really bonding with your grandchild. You may be concerned about how this will change your relationship with your daughter or son.
What’s more, your deep capacity for empathy and compassion may make it hard for you to step back when you want to step in. Setting thoughtful boundaries is even more important for empathetic grandparents than most.
Luckily, you found me to help put these worries to rest. I'll show you how to work with parents to set boundaries that will benefit all of you.
Now that you’re here,
I’ll show you how to harness your empathy
to strengthen relationships, navigate boundaries,
and plan for a lifetime of memories.
You already know the importance of tending to relationships, but you may not know that the relationship with your grandchild’s parents is the key to grandparent success.
Write this on a colorful sticky note and post it where you’ll see it every day:
To be the best grandparent possible, I will use my superpower of empathy to support my grandchild’s parents through planning and communication.
Your superpower of empathy will be your advantage as you invest in laying the groundwork for years of belly laughs, beach trips and family dinners.
I’ll be here with all the support you need to help you create a heartfelt plan for your future with your grandchild.
Ready to start?
Until I became one, I never gave any thought to being a grandparent.
Since our four children are rather spread out in age, I didn’t have much time to transition from parent to grandparent. In fact, my youngest child graduated from high school less than 24 hours before my oldest child became a father. I really didn’t know if I was ready for this new role!
And when I turned to the internet, I couldn’t find a source for information about what I knew was most important: how to best support my grandchild’s parents so I could be a welcome part of their family life.
So I applied the skills learned in 20-plus years as a military wife: find a way to make what you need.
I started More Than Grand as a way to share inspiration and resources for grandparents who understand the importance of this new role and want to invest in strengthening family bonds. Being a more-than-grand grandparent means having a more-than-grand relationship with your grandchildren’s parents.
We cover topics that matter to grandparents - and parents - such as concrete ways to help new parents, understanding new trends in child care, and meaningful ways to connect with your grandchildren.
To help make sure you get the help you need, we created a digital course for grandparents that provides the exact steps you need to fully prepare to be a valuable part of your grandchild’s life. New Grandparent Essentials helps flexible grandparents like you clarify your expectations, communicate clearly with parents, and learn what you need to know to be a prepared grandparent—so that you can fully enjoy every minute with your grandchild. You can learn more about it here!
I’m guessing you took this quiz because becoming a grandparent is one of the best things that ever happened to you.
There are so many ways to make it even better, and we want to share them all with you!
Here’s how to get all the More-Than-Grand goodness:
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