Grandmothering: Building Strong Ties with Every Generation

Contemporary grandmothers are often marginalized from extended family life, but they have unique genetics and hormones that make them vital family members. Kathleen Berger explores the role of grandmothers in the lives of their grandchildren and provides real-life examples of how to integrate themselves into the lives of their childrens families without overstepping. She emphasizes the importance of building a strong relationship with the future parents, attending to attachment and feeding in infancy, following the parents lead in early childhood, building direct connections in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood, and learning technology to foster relationships. She also describes the problems in relationships and how to address them. Whether you are a biological grandmother, a trusted step-grandmother, or just a warm and trusted older woman with young ones in your life, you can be a vital force in the lives of future generations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 20 June 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Contemporary grandmothers often face marginalization from extended family life due to a lack of understanding and recognition of their vital role in modern families. While social institutions and grandmothers themselves may not fully appreciate the contributions they can make, genetics and hormones have designed older women to be valuable family members with patience and perspective that come with age and experience. The grandmother hypothesis further explains that human women, unlike most other living creatures, experience decades of life after menopause, making them available to their descendants. Kathleen Berger explores the role of grandmothers in the lives of their grandchildren, using real-life examples to illustrate how they can best integrate themselves into the lives of their children's families without overstepping. She highlights the particular needs of each stage of childhood as they relate to grandmother involvement and input. Before a child is born, grandmothers need to build a strong relationship with the future parents. In infancy, attachment and feeding are crucial, while in early childhood, grandmothers need to follow the parents' lead and remember that a parental alliance is essential. In childhood, children need to be safe but not isolated, and both bullies and victims benefit from a grandmother's support and assistance. In adolescence and emerging adulthood, grandmothers need to build direct connections and not avoid the difficult topics of sex, drugs, death, disease, and money. Throughout, elders need to learn technology, ensuring that it fosters, not impedes, relationships. Problems in relationships are explained honestly and with insight.

Weight: 390g
Dimension: 216 x 139 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538185407