This is when grandparents can step in and lend parents a helping hand. She says, Even though I work from home, I find that I don t spend enough time with my daughter. I m either on the phone or in meetings. While it is much better than going out to work, in the sense that I can go and spend time with Shama whenever I get a free moment, I wouldn t be able to manage if it wasn t for my in-laws. They have encouraged me to work and have never once made me feel that it is at the cost of my being a good mother.
Grandparents can help cushion the stress and demands of modern day parenting.
When a child is ill, or a mother needs to go back to work, or there is some other crisis in the family, grandparents can be lifesavers. Unfortunately, generation gap and a lack of communication sometimes act as a barrier to young parents availing of a wonderful in-built support system. Grandparents are wary of offering help in case their overtures are rejected, while their children are wary of asking for help out of the fear of criticism and of being marginalized. Parents need to remember that after them grandparents are probably most concerned about their children s well being. Studies of child development have shown that children benefit from exposure to an extended family comprising grandparents, aunts and uncles.