(Stock photo credit: Boston Public Library on Flickr) My grandmother, Marilyn Tanzer, was a knockout. “I used to be a very pretty girl, you know,” she would regularly announce to her four grandchildren. Grandma was voted “Prettiest Face” back in high school and had pictures to prove it. But nobody needed proof. Legend had it…
DetailsThe old adage says “if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?” You need a vision. If you have any doubt, watch any episode of Shark Tank where the “sharks” will ask, “tell me your vision,” and “now that you have your vision, what’s next, how will you…
DetailsUntil recently, Author and Grandparenting expert Jerry Witkovsky wouldn’t even entertain the question about what to say if a grandchild asked you to keep a secret. “I wouldn’t want to jeopardize the trust with my adult child.” But after questions at recent speaking events, from grandparents earnestly wanting to always be there for their grandkids,…
DetailsIn The Grandest Love: Inspiring the Grandparent-Grandchild Connection, I talk about the importance of three generation family meetings and to create a vision for a family. This includes sample quizzes and surveys that can help a family discern their common values in life. Our own family went through this process, and here’s what we came…
Details(Photo credit zazzle.com.au) Dear Grandpa, First of all—thanks for letting me call you Grandpa. My maternal grandfather died before I was born and my paternal grandfather died when I was eight, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had a Grandpa in my life. Grandparents are important characters in the narrative of a human…
DetailsGetting ready to repeat some of the same conversations with your adult children this holiday season? Why not try this Journaling Expedition instead, on Developing a “TLC” Dialogue. This exercise challenges you to examine some of the issues you’ve considered raising with your adult offspring and to practice sharing them using Tender Loving Communication. Note:…
DetailsJerry Witkovsky, author of The Grandest Love: Inspiring the Grandpraent-Grandchild Connection, talks about “the three jars,” for spending, saving and giving to charity, as a way engage in conversation, share values with grandchildren. (Watch Jerry talk about the three jars below.) “Recently I’ve added a 4th jar, for Investing. This final jar completes the circle,…
DetailsAs my own grandchildren got older, it became clear that maintaining strong connection was increasingly challenging as their schedules grew more demanding and their academics, extracurriculars, and friendships predominated. Something else was clear too: that the high school years are a critical period during which close bonds with caring family members are more important than…
DetailsStock Photo. Photo credit: Marc Love on Flickr ————————————————————————————————- My “Bubby” Marvis gave me a life-changing gift: unconditional love, acceptance, and respect at a time when I needed it the most. Ten years ago, in my early twenties, I came out to her as a lesbian. Having grown up in a tight-knit, Orthodox-Jewish family and…
DetailsThink about it: Family Meetings might be the perfect opportunity for all three generations to spend some all-too-rare time together, unplugged. That’s right: no cell phones either. Because everything (and everybody) you need, you already have, right there with you. So take a long moment to look around at each other and to quietly give…
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