What Amazon Says
Loving our children's children well is an art--one we keep learning as they grow.
Making memories and fostering relationships with our grandchildren in the midst of a fast-moving culture isn't easy, and a legacy that lasts isn't crafted overnight. So how do we as grandparents cultivate strong, meaningful relationships with the children we adore?
Start with The Mindful Grandparent. With twelve grandchildren between them, authors and educators Marilyn McEntyre and Shirley Showalter know deep in their bones that attending to the small ones in our lives has never been more important. Grandparents can help little ones learn to value relationships over things, lap time over screen time. They can help grandchildren live with intention, attentive to others, to nature, and to the diverse, beautiful, and troubled social world around them.
The Mindful Grandparent doesn't shy away from the challenging issues in contemporary grand-parenting. Through inspired ideas teamed with simple practices and engaging stories, The Mindful Grandparent covers wide-ranging topics such as cultivating curiosity, giving meaningful gifts, helping children explore difficult topics, building a grandparent team, honoring adult children's boundaries, and managing technology.
Let The Mindful Grandparent be your guide and source of refuge for the sacred and sometimes bewildering work of grand-parenting.
Shirley Showalter
Marilyn McEntyre
My Amazon Review
The Mindful Grand-parent by Marilyn McEntyre and Shirley Showalter offers kindly guidance for grandparents of all ages and stages. It's a handbook of practical instruction, a roadmap for discovering the joys of grand-parenting, and a treasure trove of personal stories with resources, both print and digital.
Authors McEntire and Showalter, both educators, knit themes together with stories gleaned from experience. The authors never lose sight of their audience, offering down-to-earth suggestions for grandparents. Some is contained in lists, which I found helpful:
Ch. 15 "Stuff Better than Toys"
Ch. 25 "What Good Grandparents Do"
Ch. 43 "A Few Truths to Talk About"
Useful tips for specific needs are also included:
- Grand-parenting from afar? Light a candle as a way to send out love energy to distant grandchildren.
- What about emotion? Authors address fear and cite books and songs that inspire courage.
- How to become a good ancestor? See Chapter 49
As a grandparent of four teens, this book invited me to reminisce and pause to consider my legacy. Bite-size chapters make for stress-free reading. At 257 pages, the book is a must-read for those on the threshold of grand-parenting or long-time elders. This well-researched volume can be a great Mother's Day or birthday gift for grandparents at both ends of the spectrum.
Collaboration at a Distance
Shirley reports that she met Marilyn four years ago when they both served on a panel during a writers' festival. Now she anticipates their first face to face meeting. As she mentioned in an email message to me in late April, "Soon we get to greet each other, do a podcast together, and speak to the people."
Without digital means, this book maybe would have not been published. Or, it may have taken much longer with the limitations of the postal service.
My four grandchildren, now teenagers, eat cupcakes, celebrating a milestone several years ago when they were all in grade school
Two of the cupcakes did a disappearing act before the photo shoot
Amazon Link, The Mindful Grandparent: Find it HERE
Happy reading!
How do you relate to this book? Maybe you influence the younger generation in other ways, perhaps as a teacher, an aunt, uncle or mentor, or in a blended family.
Do you have experience with collaboration? Tell us about it!
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