In extreme situations, the courts have found it's often a grandparent who can reach a troubled teen when no one else can. On a lighter note, a teacher friend of mine had her grade four students talk about their heroes one day in class. One girl said her grandmother was her hero. It's a very special relationship for people, one that can give them strength and comfort far into adulthood. The special kind of love you get from a grandparent is a love you can't get anywhere else.
Grandparents can just enjoy children for who they are in the moment.
The love of a grandparent is often freer, more unconditional, and far less psychologically complex than a parent's love. The love of a parent and the love of a grandparent are different, and both are necessary. Benefits to Grandchildren, Grandparents, and Parents Parents and grandparents can't take relationships across generations for granted or undervalue them. You have to believe these relationships are important to make building them a priority in your family. They make us feel connected not only to each other, but to something bigger, to the flow of life, to the past and to the future.