Did you know that one-third of adults over forty-five report feeling lonely? Unfortunately, loneliness can have many adverse health effects. That’s why it’s important for grandchildren to spend time with their grandparents.
Unfortunately, finding ways to bond with the elderly can sometimes be a challenge as a young adult. That’s why we made this article about building relationships.
In it, we’ll be going over some tips for connecting with your grandparents. That way, you can both become a bigger part of each other’s life.m
Visit Often
If you live within driving or walking distance of your grandparents, make sure to visit them often. Remember that it doesn’t take much to make a grandparent happy.
A brief thirty-minute visit once per week is enough to make their day. If you have a busy work life, still schedule a time to see your grandparents. Even if it’s infrequent, it will still give them something to look forward to.
If your grandparents can still drive, make sure to ask them to visit you. This will be a nice change of pace for them.
If You Can’t Visit, Find New Ways to Get in Touch
If you’re like many people, you likely live hours or days away from your grandparents. However, distance doesn’t have to get in the way of relationship building.
First, make sure you’re scheduling the occasional trip to travel and see them. It can be around holidays or just a spontaneous visit. You should also experiment with using technology to keep in touch.
Some grandparents can be technology-adverse. But, most are willing to learn, especially if you help them. Use Skype or FaceTime to have a conversation.
If that’s too complicated, you always just call them on the phone. Or, write them emails or letters. Include lots of details and pictures about your life. That way, they feel more connected with you and your family.
Look For Activities You All Enjoy
Once you start visiting your grandparents, it can be challenging to think of activities for bonding. The key is to focus on any common interest you might share. This will likely be unique to your relationship.
But, in this section, we’ll go over some of the popular activities you might enjoy doing together.
If you want to find more ways you can show your grandparents you care, make sure to learn about caregiving through this resource.
Cooking
Cooking is a classic activity that has bonded individuals across generations. If both you and your grandparents cook, you can collaborate together on recipes and meals.
Or, if you don’t cook, you can likely learn a thing or two from your grandparents. Ask them if they have any recipes they could share with you.
Passing down recipes to family members is a fantastic way of keeping their memory alive even when they pass on.
Walking
Unless your grandparents are particularly active physically, they’re likely not getting enough exercise. Walking is a great activity that all of you can do if your grandparents are still mobile.
For one thing, walks are a great form of exercise that can also help with mental health conditions a lot.
Plus, walks are a great setting for talking. While you talk to your grandparents, make sure to ask them stories about their life. They’re likely eager to hear about what you’re going through as well.
Movies
Movies are a nice way to passively pass the time with your grandparents. It’s a good method of bonding if you’re both naturally shy people. The only problem can sometimes be finding a movie that you’ll both like.
Avoid showing your grandparents genres that they will likely hate, like horror movies.
And be open to their suggestions even if you don’t usually like old movies. Learning about the movies your grandparents grew up seeing can be an excellent way of learning more about their life.
Games
Games are another great way of bonding with grandparents. This is especially true if you have kids that you want them to bond with too. You can start off with games they probably like.
Things like chess, checkers, and card games are all good options. If they’re open to trying new things, you can also try bringing in some more modern board games.
There are tons of indie ones you can choose from these days. Just make sure to start with the one that has relatively simple rules. That way, they don’t get too overwhelmed.
Gardening
Gardening can be an incredibly rewarding experience regardless of what age you’re in. If you or your grandparents have some spare land, consider transforming it into a garden together.
The act of working together toward a goal can be a great bonding experience. Plus, you can cook with any ingredients you grow.
Be Patient With the Generational Divide
One thing that makes relationships challenging between young adults and grandparents is the generational divide. Sometimes this can come in the form of interests (a grandparent might like old dramas while a young adult prefers anime).
Other times it can be more serious divides like different values or politics. If you find yourself butting heads with your grandparents on these issues, make sure to be as patient as you can.
If your grandparent is open to listening, then you can talk to them about whatever is bothering you. However, if your grandparent is disrespecting your identity or something personal to you, make sure to communicate boundaries.
Tell them you don’t want to talk about certain subjects when you visit. And, if they keep talking about them, then leave the situation.
Appreciate Learning About Building Relationships With Your Family? Keep Exploring
We hope this article helped you learn some ways for building relationships with your grandparents. It’s important to note that sometimes bonding with the elderly can feel a little awkward.
Just know that this is okay. What matters is that you’re making an effort to connect. Even if your grandparent can’t show it, they likely appreciate it.
Want more content about family life? If the answer is yes, keep scrolling through our site to find plenty of similar topics.
