To mentor your grandchildren is different from teaching your grandchildren. You are not simply transmitting skills. You are firing the children's' imagination, growing their ambition, guiding them in solving problems, and giving them a sense of their own worth. You are in the natural position to play the mentor role for your grandchildren. They need you whether they are average, slow, or gifted, whether they are disabled or physically fit, whether they are sickly or perfectly healthy.
Grandparents have patience that is usually only learned through the years.
Grandparents are often nonjudgmental and accepting of mistakes. The word mentor comes from Greek mythology. Mentor was Odyssey's trusted counselor and the guardian of Odyssey's son Telemachus in his absence. Mentoring can be a special function of grandparents today. You can give them a lifelong legacy of love and learning.