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Grandparents are often an integral part of a child’s development, and for many families, they play a primary role as caregivers. Although there are hundreds of parenting guides on the market, there are few “grandparenting” books available to influence this generation in caring for and nurturing their grandchildren. This work serves as a gentle, encouraging handbook, not necessarily to impart step-by-step advice, but to provide support and bits of wisdom cultivated from the author’s own grandparenting journey.
Davis details a variety of life skills that grandparents are uniquely qualified to impart to their grandchildren: making positive choices, reinforcing values, promoting healthy habits, keeping up with schoolwork, and providing community and familial support. She encourages her readers to help point their grandchildren in a positive direction while also respecting their independence and realizing that this generation of children is being raised in a different society than the one in which they themselves grew up. She also provides resources, keeping in mind that being a primary caregiver for grandchildren can come with financial, physical, and emotional costs. She urges her readers to make sure that they are caring for their own health so that they can best promote the well-being of their grandchildren.
This is a well-organized, thoughtful, and beneficial tool for any grandparent who finds themselves caring for grandchildren. The author adds useful resources, research studies, and other established caregiver recommendations to augment her own observations for a well-rounded compendium. Although she does not shy away from some hard truths, she provides enough actionable advice to help her readers through even the toughest circumstances. It is a quick read but packs solid, useful information into a few short chapters. In short, Davis’ book is an essential addition to every grandparent’s bookshelf.