Our grandchildren often come to us with very low self esteem. It then becomes our duty to build their self esteem and to have positive interactions with our grandchildren.
As grandparents raising our grandchildren we can assist this process by exhibiting 4 basic behaviours to them on a consistent basis. Below are some key factors that we can use to help in this effort.
Support: We must provide a safe haven for our grandchildren so that they can express their dreams and desires, their fears and failures and know that we will listen to them without judgment. Our home should be a peaceful place of retreat for them when things go wrong. Our grandchildren need to know that our home offers a supportive framework that they can lean on, gather strength and be encouraged to carry on.
Empower: As our grandchildren grow give them more and more independence. From learning to tie their own shoe laces to driving a car. As grandparents we need to instill confidence in our grandchildren to try new things, tackle chores and problems on their own. We need to recognize their strengths and highlight them so that our grandchildren begin to use their strengths to make decision and choose career paths that are right for them.
Love them unconditional: We must continue to demonstrate and communicate our love for our grandchildren, no matter what they have done. We need to see their misbehaving as an opportunity for them to learn and grow. We need to help them to learn from their mistakes and guide them to make amends for their bad behaviour and help them to choose appropriate behaviour next time.
Faith in our grandchildren’s capabilities: We must trust them to learn right from wrong. As they grow, we must give them opportunities to exercise problem solving and negotiation skills. As grandparents we must communicate trust and belief in our grandchild’s ability to succeed.
Through a consistent showing of the self grand parenting behaviours, our grandchildren get positive reinforcement of specific self-esteem attributes. Grandchildren who receive support are strengthened; those who are empowered, feel, Encouraged; grandchildren who know unconditional love learn to Love themselves and when our grandchildren know that we have faith them in they are fulfilled as human beings.
