About.com

Supreme Court Disappoints Grandparents--Again

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:28:39 +0000

After undermining the grandparent visitation statutes of most states back in 2000, the Supreme Court has declined to address the damage it did with the Troxel v. Granville decision. In that case, the court ruled that "fit parents" must be presumed to act in the best interests of their children when deciding who should have contact with them.

...

Read Full Post

Grand Photo of the Week: Up to Snow Good

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:16:22 +0000

In the latitudes where I live, we seldom get snow. Most of our snow play occurs in the summer when we go to the mountains. Traveling with the grandkids is always fun, but finding ammunition for a snowball fight makes it better, even if the snow is less than pristine.

...

Read Full Post

Vote for Favorite Grandparent Blog

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:02:38 +0000

It's time for us to show the MTV generation that they're not the only ones who can rock the vote. Vote now for your favorite grandparent blog. But first learn more about the five finalists. You want to be an informed voter, don't you?

...

Read Full Post

Vote for Most Admired Grandparent

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:01:31 +0000

We live in a youth-oriented society. Isn't it great when a grandparent nabs the air waves or the ink and wins the admiration of young and old? Our five finalists range from being fairly private people to being very media-active. They are different in other ways, too, so which should make for a lively contest for most-admired grandparent. Don't be left out of the action. Read about the five finalists...

Read Full Post

Vote for Favorite Grandparenting Book

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:00:07 +0000

I swear by my shelf of grandparenting books. Whether the authors are giving advice, making me laugh or just sharing this special time in our lives, they all feel like friends. I hope you have all five of these finalists on your shelf, because we can always use an extra friend or two.

...

Read Full Post

Nuggets Not a Nutritious Lunch

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:50:01 +0000

Blame it on the nuggets. If the preschool child in North Carolina had been offered almost anything else to supplement her supposedly nutritionally deficient lunch, the outrage would have been considerably less. But chicken nuggets? Most of the grandparents that I know are appalled at our grandchildren's predilection for those chunks of fat and sodium, although most of us have been guilty of buying or serving them.

...

Read Full Post

Nonagenarians Make a Fresh Start

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:09:17 +0000

Here's a good post-Valentine story. A couple who have been married for 71 years began a new life earlier this week. Phillip Grossman, 95, and his wife Dorothy, 93, were greeted at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv by a group that included one of their 14 great-grandchildren. The Grossmans are olim, immigrants to Israel. They join one of their three children who immigrated previously. Another child is scheduled to make aliyah later this year.

...

Read Full Post

Grand Photo of the Week: Fly Away

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:40:39 +0000

I admit to a lifelong fascination with things that fly. Maybe that's why I have so much fun playing with the grandchildren and rubber band airplanes. Sure, they fly erratically, often lose pieces and sometimes land in the tops of tall trees, but never knowing what they will do is part of the fun. When I was a kid, we played with the balsa wood versions. Those are still available, along with foam versions like the one in this picture. Recently we had fun with a rubber band-powered helicopter. I also like that they cost only a few dollars. Old-fashioned fun at a bargain price--what could be better, from a grandparent's point of view?

...

Read Full Post

Hoping for a Happy Dance

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:23:55 +0000

Last week I posed the question to my readers, "What do you think is key in raising happy kids?" I received a lot of great answers. Several mentioned the importance of being raised in a loving family.

...

Read Full Post

Grandparents Must Keep Hands Off the Hair

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:23:26 +0000

A friend who is planning a trip to visit her in-laws is facing a hairy issue. Her son has long hair, and the in-laws object, saying that they don't enjoy showing off his pictures because of his hair. My friend wants her son to spend time with his grandparents, but she is afraid that if she leaves him in their care, they will take him for a haircut.

...

Read Full Post