grandparents

Dating When You’re a Grandparent

April 4, 2013 By teresak 11 Comments

Love is an amazing thing. From the young to the young at heart, anyone can fall head over heels in love. However, as we get older the idea of dating can seem a daunting prospect. The passion we felt in our youth doesn’t fade but it’s hard to know where to start – especially if you’ve already been in a loving relationship that’s sadly come to an end. To help you on your journey, here’s a guide to dating as a grandparent.

Love at any age is a blessing!

Why now is the right time

The need for a loving relationship doesn’t stop when we reach a certain age. In fact, companionships are even more important in later life. Having a strong connection with someone reduces the risk of developing physical and emotional problems. It’s even been suggested that love helps you live longer – it’s a miracle emotion!

Now is the time to seize the day and find love. You won’t be alone in your quest. More and more people over 60 are reaching out on the internet to find special someone. You don’t have to be a tech-savvy senior – easy-to-use websites, like eHarmony, are a brilliant place to connect with like-minded people in your local area.

Trust your instincts

During your passage towards happiness, have faith in your own judgment. Being a grandparent means you have a wealth of experience to guide you. Learn from the impulsive mistakes you made in your youth and draw upon the patience and understanding you learnt as a parent. Not everyone you meet will ignite that spark within you but don’t give up. Make each date meaningful and look towards the future.

Telling your family

Another reason why seniors are sometimes wary of dating is because of the fear of upsetting children and grandchildren. The strong bonds you share with your family are unlikely to be broken by the arrival of your new partner. However, they may be tested. If your family seems unsure of the path you’re taking, remember they have your best interests at heart. As soon as they see how happy you are, their fears will be laid to rest.

To help bring your family and new partner together, make sure the relationship is serious before letting that person into your relatives’ lives. Also, anyone who doesn’t show an interest in meeting your children should be sent packing.

Get started today

There are lots of new and exciting ways to approach dating – some you probably haven’t even thought of. Websites dedicated to dating and social media sites, such as Facebook, are great places to meet people. They also help you stay in touch with new and old friends.

Websites like eHarmony make senior dating easy. The questions it asks you are designed to find out exactly what and who you are looking for, as well as giving an insight into your personality, beliefs and morals. The results are matches with a very high level of compatibility. And the best thing is that this can all be done from the comfort of your lounge.

FYI-This is a guest-post written especially for NanaHood!

Time for Thursday Thoughts! Grab the button and link up!

Filed Under: Featured, Thursday Thoughts Tagged With: dating, grandparents, seniors

What’s a Blogglebean?

August 22, 2012 By teresak Leave a Comment

It’s not something you eat. It’s something you do.

Blogglebeans is a one-to-one animated online experience for grandparents and their grandchildren. Through Blogglebeans, grandparents and grandchildren can play and share gifts, games, activities and messages featuring quirky characters from the animated world of Bloggleton. The child’s experience is fueled by the characters of Bloggleton and the grandparent’s activity, while overseen by a parent’s monitoring account. Blogglebeans is also incredibly safe, created first-hand by moms and a grandpa using thoughtful processes and technology to help keep kids safe online.

This is the child’s homepage. There’s a separate one for parents and grandparents.

This morning I got to experience Blogglebeans myself and it was so much fun! Not only that but it was extremely easy to use, and for this technologically challenged nana, that’s important.

Blogglebeans characters

I loved the bright colorful characters and the fun games and activities. My first thought was that this was a great way for grandparents who live far away from their grandchildren to share fun online, and while that’s true there’s no reason that nanas like me who live close to their grandchildren can’t join in the fun too!

For more information about this awesome way to connect with your grandchildren visit them at

www.blogglebeans.com

http://www.facebook.com/Blogglebeans

Disclaimer: I was not paid to review this product. The thoughts and opinions are strictly my own!

Filed Under: Featured, Product Reviews Tagged With: Blogglebean, grandparents

Rally for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

August 17, 2011 By teresak 3 Comments

Some of the most touching messages I have received since I started NanaHood have been from grandparents who are raising grandchildren. They face so many challenges and often they have limited resources.

Not long ago I ran across some information about a rally for these grandparents and I wanted to share it with you.

National GrandRally

Gather with us on September 15^th at 1:00 p.m. at the U. S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., as grandparents and other relative caregivers from across the country take part in the 4^th National GrandRally. The GrandRally is a powerful way to gain lawmakers’ attention and to focus on the importance of relative caregivers—the challenges they face and the contributions they make. In the midst of scarce resources and a tumultuous economy, relative caregivers keep children safe and in stable homes. The GrandRally will be an historic opportunity to celebrate, create momentum, expand awareness and build upon the success from previous GrandRallies. For more information, visit www.grandrally.org email grandrally.yvonne2011@yahoo.com or speak with GrandRally staff at 215-844-4744.

If I Had My Way….

I would load up a van full of Kentucky and Tennessee grandparents who are raising their grandchildren (I live in Kentucky but near the Tennessee border) and take them all to Washington. We’d take our time going and coming back. We’d stop and eat at a Cracker Barell or two and we’d show each other pictures of our grandchildren and tell stories about how smart, pretty/handsome they all are.

Since I can’t afford to do that I will settle for telling you about it, praying that grandparents who want to go can find a way to, and most of all that their voices are heard and that they receive the financial and emotional support they need to do their job well.

God bless grandparents raising grandchildren!

Filed Under: Grandparents who are raising grandchildren (or helping raise them) Tagged With: grandparents, raising grandchildren

When Grandparents Are Stubborn As A Mule

July 29, 2011 By teresak 13 Comments

If you are a grandparent being stubborn about something may not be a good idea, and then again it might. Let me explain.

First, let me state that I think mules have gotten a bad reputation. I mean they have other qualities besides being stubborn. So how come no one ever mentions them? I think mule loving folks should get together and file a lawsuit against whoever has stereotyped the poor mule. Or maybe they could get Congress to pass a law to keep people from discriminating against them. Oh wait, I forgot. Our Congress can’t agree on anything so they sure wouldn’t be able to tackle something as complicated as Mule Discrimination. Anyway……

Baby mules are cute! My brother has three of them and Abby and I recently visited them. This little fellow’s name is Jasper.

If You Weren’t Raised On a Farm

You may not know much about mules. A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). A horse has 64 chromosomes, and a donkey has 62. The mule ends up with 63. Mules can be either male or female, but because of the odd number of chromosomes, they can’t reproduce. (So I guess mules don’t have to worry about birth control)

As I was saying earlier before I started rambling. Mules are known for being stubborn but what about grandparents? Things change and sometimes change can be confusing. When my babies were born we were told to let them sleep on their tummies. Now they say don’t do that. They need to sleep on their backs. If a grandbaby is in my care and it goes to sleep do I lay it down on it’s tummy (I had five and they all slept that way and survived) or do I lay the baby on its back?

The correct answer is …..

Whatever the parents tell me to do (I bet you knew that).

But what if the parents were wrong about something? Let’s say they don’t believe in wearing seat belts. Now that’s a horse (or a mule) of a different color.

Did my parents always make me wear a seat belt? No.

Did my grandfather pile his grandchildren in a jeep without seat belts and jar us all over the farm? Yes.

Fortunately we survived but it’s not a good idea to let children not wear seat belts. In fact I have been known (shhh, don’t tell) to call the police when I spot a pick up truck with children bouncing around in the truck bed on the highway.

In conclusion, being stubborn about some things is good. Being stubborn about everything is not. That’s probably not anything you didn’t already know (I don’t claim to be Confucius) but if nothing else you may feel a little more affectionate towards mules after reading this post. I hope so, because my brother’s baby mules are really sweet!

Jasper the friendly mule!

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: grandparents, mule, stubborn

Is it Safe To Let Your Children Ride With Their Grandparents?

July 19, 2011 By teresak 3 Comments

Have you ever driven behind a little old lady or elderly man and wondered why in the world they were still driving?

I once knew a lady who lived in our community that if I saw her car on the road I ALWAYS kept a respectable distance. You just never knew when she was going to veer to the left or the right. Would I have let my children ride with her in a car with her? NEVER!

At what age should someone stop driving? In my opinion “age” isn’t the issue as much as skill and a recent study supports my opinion.

What they found….

Researchers studied data from State Farm insurance claims covering 11,859 children 15 and younger in motor vehicle crashes from 2003 to 2007 in 15 states and the District of Columbia; they also conducted telephone interviews with drivers. They found that the risk of injury to children in crashes was 50% lower when grandparents were behind the wheel.

The folks who conducted this study are wondering why the safety rate is so low for grandparents.

I hope they call and ask me because I know the answer and if you are a grandparent, I think you do too. When I am driving my granddaughter anywhere I take extra precautions. Nothing (that I can think of) would devastate me more than having an accident with her in the car.

So let nana chauffer your children and stop worrying. She’ll do everything within her power to keep them safe!

Thank you, Lord for careful drivers and for keeping my precious granddaughter safe!

Abby's favorite treat at the pool!

The study I referred to was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: driving, grandparents, Safety

Grandparent’s as Babysitters?

March 7, 2011 By teresak 7 Comments

My mom was always my first choice when it came to finding a babysitter for my children and when I was a little girl, my favorite place to go was Grandma Layne’s house. So when I ran across a study published by Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Association of Pediatrics) that said, “Odds of medically attended injuries were decreased for children who received care from grandparents,” I wasn’t surprised. Most nanas watch their grandchildren like a momma bear watches her cubs.

Statistically accidents are 50% less likely to happen when nana is watching the children.

More Findings from the study…..

*The research finds that compared to organized daycare or care by the mother or other relatives, having a grandmother watch a child was associated with a decreased risk of injury for the child.

*According to the researchers, the odds of injury were significantly greater among children whose parents never married compared with children whose mothers stayed married throughout the child’s life.

*Similarly, odds of injury were greater for children living in homes in which the father did not co-reside.

Accidents Still Happen

Even though I believe this study I know that accidents still happen, even with nana watching. A few years ago Abby and I were playing with some jewelry (children’s make your own jewelry) when for no reason at all Abby stuck a blue jewel up her nose! To say I was shocked would be an understatement.

“I didn’t aim too, Nana,” she wailed.

How do you not aim to stick something up your nose? I think what she meant was “I thought it would come back out,” and it did. After a trip to the pediatrician’s office.

What Makes Nana a Great Sitter?

The same thing that makes anyone a great caretaker….love, patience and the belief that children (especially little ones) need to be watched like a hawk!