Be There Bedtime Stories

As a grandmother who lives over a hundred miles from her kids I'm excited to hear about Be There Bedtime Stories, a new way to read to your children or grandchildren when you aren't physically with them. This will also be a great way for people in the military service or who must travel a lot to be an active part of their children's lives. And it will probably be a comfort to children in hospitals, too.

I'm please that some of my own books will be available in this format, although they aren't there yet.

If you're interested in learning more, here's the link:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4841194.htm

Grandkids

My grandson is spending the week with us and I love being a grandma. I wish we lived closer and could see each other more often, but the time we do spend together is so much fun.

Some children must live with their grandparents, who take the place of parents, and others frequently care for their grandkids, but it's still different from being a parent because they have the benefit of experience.

Others seldom or never see their grandkids.

But those of us who do get to spend time with our grandkids are among the luckiest people in the world.

Parenting Problems

What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a parent? Sleepless nights with a crying infant? Potty training? Tantrums of terrible twos? Sending kids off to school and worrying about grades? Getting them to eat healthy foods? Teaching them obedience and common sense? Getting them to do chores? Paying for childcare, sports, and lessons? Dealing with puberty, curfews and teenaged rebellion?

All those things and many more can be difficult but with each of them you know, "This, too, shall pass."

In my humble opinion the hardest thing about being a parent is having your kids grow up and move out on their own, because they'll never go back to being children.

But, if you're lucky, eventually they'll present you with grandkids.

If you're able to see them often you'll get to enjoy the cuddly babies, watch them learn to smile, walk, and talk, help them explore and enjoy the world as they grow, play with them, read to them, and enjoy all the other great things about children. Even grandparents who have custody of their grandkids have already been through the hard stuff with their own kids and that experience makes it all easier to handle.

As parents it's hard to imagine becoming a grandparent, but when and if that finally happens you'll be amazed at how much fun it is.

Grandparent and Parents

What's the main difference between parents and grandparents?

Time.

I don't mean grandparents necessarily have more of that, although they might if they've retired from their jobs and haven't taken on too many other obligations.

While some grandparents have much less time to spend with their grandchildren than the kids' parents have, especially if they live far away, others live with their grandchildren or take care of them while the parents are at work, so they spend as much time with the kids as their parents do. Obviously that's not the biggest difference.

But grandparents have the benefit of a different perspective because they have lived longer. They know from experience that problems like potty training and teenage rebellion, while difficult to deal with, only occupy a small part of a person's life. They also know the good things, like the fun they share with youngsters who think the adults in their lives are wonderful, won't last forever. As a result, while parents do appreciate such things, grandparents appreciate them even more.

When those kids are grown the people who are their parents today will appreciate their memories of those early years and realize they will always be parents, just as today's grandparents never stopped loving their own children who became parents themselves.

This holiday season is a wonderful time to create memories for all generations. But if families can't be together now, I hope they'll find time to spend with each other and create lasting memories at other seasons of the year.