When you and your grandparents live in one house - Information for kids

If you are lucky enough to have grandparents, you will know that a grandmother and grandfather 'rocks'.  It is fun to visit them, you get spoiled, they have a lot of time for you and all and all it is just fun being around them.

This may not be the case for everybody, some kids do not have grandparent anymore or not such loving grandparents.  It can also be a totally different story if your grandparents are raising you or they are staying with your family in the same house.

image source

In some cases you can stay in your grandparents home, or you do not have a mom or dad anymore and your grandparents are looking after you or they can stay with your family in your house since they cannot look after themselves anymore.

Whatever the situation is, there are now different generations in one house, and that can cause some problems.  Your mom and dad has rules, but then your grandparents ignores the rules or they can change it.  The are much older than you and grew up in different times, so do not always understand the way you operate as a child or teenager.  They spoil you too much and that upsets your parents....

There are a few scenarios that can happen in this 'living together', and you would want to sort it out.  Nobody wants to live in a house where there is a lot of fighting or unhappy people.

When they move in with you, remember that it is also a huge change for them, not only for you.  They will have to get use to the way your family is doing something and they will miss their old house.  Be patient and help where you can.  Do not get irritated if they as you the 3rd time to show them how the TV works.  Remember, you grandparents may not be up to date with some things, but they have much more life experience than you and they raised your parents.

If you just give them time and accept that they are there, it can become a lot of fun listening to their stories and helping them.

If you give attention to your grandparents, you will get it back more than what you have given.  You will have somebody that has time to sit and talk to you or play a game with you when you come home from school.  Someone who can cook great food and just be there.  So even if you see it as a hassle, make sure you spend time with your grandparents, you will become a better person because of it.

Quite a few kids live with grandparents who take care of them in place of their moms or dads. These are often loving relationships, but it can be a challenging situation for both the kid and the grandparent. Kids who live with grandparents might miss their moms or dads and wish they could live with them instead. The grandparent may find it difficult to keep up with a kid and all of his or her needs. 

The same way in which most problems can be solved is to talk about it.  Explain certain things to them and let them understand how things have changed, but always be respectful.  These are people who know so much more than you and have lived live through many changes, so even if you think they are just old, take the time to listen to them and the reasons they have for doing certain things.

Having grandparents are a blessing and the best way to show that you appreciate them is to handle them with respect.  Enjoy the time you have with them, appreciate what they do for you and talk to them and help them and you will be amazed how nice it can be to have them living with you.

Find some more reasons here why grandparents are awesome.

Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone