The relationship between children and their grandparents can be a joy to behold. Ideally, a grandparent can give a child a special sense of love and security by paying lots of attention, spending lots of time and even spoiling them a little. But there are times when relationships with grandparents do not fit the ideal. One barrier to closeness is our mobile society.
Grandparents are as likely to live on another coast as they are to live down the street.
To keep in touch between visits, try using the phone as much as you can afford, and send lots of letters, drawings, and audio tapes. Some other common tensions in this relationship are often caused by insensitivity on both sides. Parents may create resentment if they use grandparents as free baby sitters. Or maybe they are not aware of their own parents' decreasing energy levels. For their part, grandparents may criticize the way the children are being reared or even undermine a parent's authority.