Different ways to support your grandchildren
Collaborative Post
Being a grandparent is a lovely position to be in, However, it can be difficult to know how best to support your grandchildren and navigate your role, especially if you are a first-time grandparent. You likely want to play a significant role in your grandchildren’s lives but won’t want to overstep the mark. Here are just some of the ways that you can support your grandchildren and nurture your relationship with them.
Financial
If you are in the position to do so, providing your grandchildren with financial support can be instrumental to their future, particularly in today’s economy. Any financial support is useful, although the best option would be to pay into a cash ISA, which they can then benefit from later in life. Opting for an ISA means that not only will they receive the money that you pay into the account, but they can also benefit from the tax-free interest.
This money may then enable your grandchildren to achieve milestones in their future, such as contributing towards a house deposit, going travelling, or funding university studies. If you have very young grandchildren, who won’t be accessing the account for a considerable amount of time, you could also take advantage of a longer fixed-term ISA, benefitting from the best possible rate.
Advice
No matter their age, if you have a close relationship with your grandchildren then they will likely come to you for advice. Ultimately, you have more life experience and can offer a different insight and perspective on any potential problems in their lives.
When offering advice, particularly for younger grandchildren, make sure it aligns with the beliefs of their parents. It is also important to take into account how things may differ from when you were their age.
Learning
As well as giving advice, having grandchildren is the perfect opportunity to learn new things yourself. With every generation comes new advances, particularly technological ones. Allowing your grandchildren to teach you things, whether that be how to use a certain device or something they have recently learned in school, can even consolidate their knowledge and strengthen their communication skills.
Encouraging your grandchildren to teach you things can also do wonders for their self-confidence, whilst strengthening your relationship.
Family history
The opportunity to learn about family history is something that many of us treasure dearly; however, it can often be hard to retain all the information you’ve been told. Therefore, documenting your family’s history can be a really special gift for your grandchildren.
Creating real-life family memories can be done in a variety of ways, from writing it all down to recording it via video. Whichever way to choose to record your family history, this is something that your grandchildren can cherish forever, add to, and continue to pass down to their children.
Photo by Johnny Cohen on Unsplash
