Tips For Being the Best Grandparent You Can Be
Parents are not issued an instruction manual to guide them on their journey. They must fumble through each and every day and do the best they can to care for, love and guide the little lives they’ve been entrusted with. Grandparents, too, often find they must fly by the seat of their pants to develop a relationship that is strong, lasting and truly special. Grandparents, however, do have a leg up on the wonderful, rewarding task at hand. They bring experience to the relationship.
So, how can grandparents make sure a strong bond is formed without running the risk of stepping on their own children’s toes along the way? There are some fantastic ideas that can assist to help make this most rewarding task pay off for the benefit of the children and grandchildren both. These ideas can help you on your journey to become the best grandparent you can be:
Remember your boundaries – Grandparents bring experience, wisdom and knowledge to the relationship, but they are not the parents of the little ones in question. Remember the rules of the road your children set for their own children and respect their decisions. While you can still guide your children and offer advice, do keep the boundaries in mind. This will simply make for a much more enjoyable relationship with your children and your grandchildren, too.
Make yourself available – Make time for your grandchildren and always lend them an ear. Even if you live all the way across the country, half way around the world or work 60-hour weeks, you can still remain in close contact with them by calling on the phone, sending cards and letters and even by engaging in e-mail or computer-facilitated conversations. Let them know you are always thinking of them.
Make your time together special – It doesn’t matter if you live next door or around the world, time with your grandchildren should be special. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on elaborate activities if you cannot afford to do so either. Teach a grandchild how to bake cookies or take a fishing trip to the neighborhood lake for fun and rewarding activities your grandchildren will appreciate. It’s the simple things grandparents can do that often create the most special and lasting of memories. This tends to hold true for young grandchildren as well as teens, too. They will benefit more from your time and undivided attention than anything else you can give them.
Celebrate your time together – Perhaps the best gift you can give your grandchildren is letting them know how much you cherish your time together. Parents, as has been the case since the beginning of time, don’t often have the luxury to take pause and celebrate the little moments. Grandparents, however, do. Create scrapbooks of your activities, write or record little story books about your grandchildren’s visits or just thank them for being them. They will remember this and love you for it.
Just like parents, grandparents are not issued manuals to describe their jobs in detail. To make the most of this experience and ensure that grandchildren know they are valued and loved, give with your heart and spend your time creating the little memories that will last. Unconditional love and undivided attention are the greatest gifts a grandparent can give.
Veronica Scott
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/tips-for-being-the-best-grandparent-you-can-be-719741.html
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I am going to florida for 4 weeks with my best friend any tips?
I’m going next july and i have never been to florida before and we are from britain so it is far away. Even though it is so far away i am soo excited, so have you get any tips or anything that can help for when i go? We are going to naples to her grandparents and then we are going to orlando
Thanks!
Naples is beautiful. Great malls and beautiful scenery!
I would say it’s more laid back then Orlando.
Orlando is great. There is so much to do. Universal Studios, Disney, Sea World, Downtown Disney. Malls and Restaurant’s galore!
Orlando has a lot of nightclubs and things to do late night.
I personally like Citywalk which is the front part of Universal. You basically have to walk through Citywalk to get to Universal. Citywalk has tons of restaurants and shops. At night all the restaurants play music, bands are playing and people are out having fun. Lots of entertainment to be had.
Have fun!
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Have been living in Florida for 23 years.
bring loadz of money n empty suitcase n shop!!!
visit the theme parks…..n take loadz of pictures!!!!
n hav loadz of fun!!!
sounds great!!!
xx
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I have family that lives in Florida, so I visit a lot. Naples is on the west coast, while Orlando is in the middle. Since you have a month, I recommend you add Miami, which is on the east coast, and then Key West, which is south of Miami.
Key West has that island feel while Miami has a wonderful mix of cultures, including Cuban, and some great atmosphere. While you are in Miami, you should also go to the Everglades – a national park where you can see the animals in their natural habitat… lots of beautiful birds, fish, and alligators!
While in Orlando, be sure to check out Disney World. You will need at least 2 days there, but you can realistically do 4 or 5 without being bored, no matter how old you are! Universal Studios is also worth a look, but if you can only do one park, DISNEY it is!
Have a great time!!
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I will help you as much as I can:
Cirque du Soleil is a must see at Downtown Disney. The Blue Man Group show at Universal Studios is very good. Check the calendars for House of Blues (Downtown Disney) and Hard Rock Live (Universal City Walk) to see if a band or comedian that you like is scheduled to perform. These are two great venues for live music.
1) Ignore most – if not all – of the information in the previous answers.
2) If you choose to visit Key West you can take a high speed catamaran from Marco Island direct to Key West. Visit http://www.seakeywest.com for more info (or Google "Key West Express"). This will save you hours of drive time. Key West is a neat day trip. It’s not worth much more than that these days. Visit the Mel Fisher Museum (www.melfisher.com) and see the sunset.
3) If you enjoy or think you might enjoy fishing, Naples and the surrounding area is a pretty good place to do it.
4) Try to make arrangements to visit Busch Gardens and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. You might consider driving from Naples to Tampa and spend a night or two and then move on to Orlando. These are two of the best attractions in Florida. The Ybor City area of Tampa is good for nightclubs. You may be able to catch a baseball game in St Petersburg if that sort of thing interests you.
5) If you are both adults over 21 traveling without children there probably isn’t any reason for you to visit the Magic Kingdom unless you just want to be able to say that you were there. EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are decent theme parks. The best two in Orlando are Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and Sea World. Spend your time in the next few months researching the parks and decide where you want to spend your time and money. If you’re a roller coaster freak then Busch Gardens and Islands of Adventure is for you. If you’re not into the rides so much then then EPCOT and Sea World are your parks.
6) If you’re going to spend more than a day at Disney World look into getting the Disney Dining Plan. This will save you some cash.
6) It will be hot from sunrise to sunset. Low to mid 30’s Celsius would not be unusual for mid July in Orlando.
7) Plan on thunderstorms every day in Orlando from 3:00PM to 7:00PM. If you’re going to do something outdoors during that time frame be prepared to move indoors in a hurry. The rain blows through quickly and then the sun will be out again so the whole afternoon isn’t shot. The sun won’t set until after 8:00PM in July.
9) You can find plenty to do (Karaoke, live music, shopping, arcades, touristy stuff, etc) on International Drive in Orlando. Get the trolley bus ticket and spend a day or two or more at Wet n Wild, Festival Bay Mall (see Jeff Howell play on Friday night at Cricketer’s Arms, a bar at the mall), catch up on news from back home (and the football games) at The Lucky Leprechaun or Murphy’s Arms, visit Wonderworks, see a dinner show (I like Capone’s myself). You will find ways to be entertained on I Drive.
10) Flirt ("chat up") the locals. They eat that accent up. You’ll get more dudes (or chicks) than you ever thought was possible.
11) Listen to 104.1 FM on the radio in Orlando.
Have fun.
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wow….it’s going to be CROWDED!!!!
-get fast passes to the main rides. If you look on the map to which ever park it will tell you which rides have fast passes and which ones don’t.
-Bring lots of money, for expensive food, and souvenirs in the parks.
-Bring a camera and an extra memory chip, because you will take a lot of pictures.
-drink lots of water, because you will defiantly get dehydrated if you don’t be careful, especially if you’re going in July.
-bring a cell phone or walky talkie, just in case you split up from your group, and have a meeting spot designated if you do get lost or separated.
most important, HAVE FUN!!!!!!!
hope your trip is great!
Good luck!
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4 time DW visitor
you guys are in for a bit of a shock!! the heat in florida in july is absolutely oppressive. bring lots of shorts of and tank tops!! be prepared for weather at its worst.
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