The "G" factor: How Grandparents are shaping the world

Grace absolutley lights up when Grammy comes in the room. Just one note of my mother's distinctive voice and Grace is over the moon. Alexandra too!
And this is not your traditional Grandmother-Grandchild relationship. Grace spends Wednesdays with her Grammy and Papou. My Dad, who never changed diapers on the first go around, now rolls up his sleeves, changes that diaper, gives her a bottle and then does anything she wants to make her smile. Anything from walking her for hours in the stroller, to watching the cars go by, and enjoying an episode of cartoons together. My Mother has crawling races on the floor, makes them laugh out loud with her funny voices and then lulls them to sleep like only she could.

Without their help, I'm not sure how we could make it work. This is the growing trend. You could call it the "G" factor. Grandparents taking a central role in the upbringing of their grandchildren. Gone are the days when a trip to Grandma and Grandpas was limited to a Sunday dinner or brief trip for cookies and milk. Our generation is genuinely reliant on our parents for help in making the "life-work" balance work. A likely product of a challenging economy and major shifts in the makeup of family in general.

I guess this isn't totally new to me or my siblings. You see, we had young, vibrant grandparents who are still with us. I don't have a single childhood memory that doesn't involve my grandparents. From riding big wheels in their driveway, to walking to the local store to cash in orange soda bottles for penny candy, to dinner with hot pans of American chop-suey and many a sleepover night. My grandparents- and specifically my grandmother- had a very prominent role in our young life. She was not your typical grandmother. She was strong and tough. Evidenced in everything from the not-so-gentle way she brushed our hair with that red-rubber bristled brush to the way she fiercely protected us from anything and everything that might do us harm.

So growing up with a grandmother like that, I guess I expected that my mother would not be traditional. She's not. I wouldn't have it any other way. It has been such a gift to watch her and my father fall in love with my daughter and my neice. Just a hug from them or a smile makes all the cares of the world fade away.

These special, new relationships between grandparents and grandchild are helping to shape the little people we are introducing to the world. Grandparents are helping to shape our world in a more profound way than we might realize. It's a blessing. There's no better way to pass on values, traditions, and the importance family.