Health & Fitness
Bringing Kids and Grandparents Together
Grandparents Day is just around the corner (Sept. 11), and it's a great time to take the opportunity to bring your children and their grandparents together for some fun family time.
Grandparents Day is just around the corner (Sept. 11), and it’s a great time to take the opportunity to bring your children and their grandparents together for some fun family time. The grandparents in your family will be thrilled to have a special visit and to spend time with your little ones, but getting the kids to be as enthusiastic may be challenging.
Here are some activities that can help keep every generation entertained and happy as they spend time together.
For younger children:
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- Do “makeovers” with peel-off nail polish, colorful hair clips and costume jewelry
- Decorate holiday ornaments or picture frames
- Plant flowers or veggies together
- Bake personal pizzas and have kids and grandparents choose their own toppings
- Bring each child’s favorite books for grandparents to cuddle up and read to them
- Have a tea party or picnic
For older kids:
- Play video or board games together
- Visit a pottery or ceramic painting shop and let everyone pick something to paint
- Get dressed up and see a performance at your local theater
- Go fishing
- Bake cookies and decorate them together
- Share a favorite recipe and prepare it together
Bringing kids and their grandparents together is a great way to help kids learn about the family, build great relationships with their elders and learn to be comfortable around seniors. Even better, grandparents will benefit from the mental challenges, physical activity and family contact. Even if aging parents have challenges with mobility and prefer not to go out, many communities are happy to have kids visit and enjoy quality time with their grandparents.
Find out what's happening in Duluthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Susan Tidwell is Executive Director of Plantation South Duluth (www.plantationsouth-duluth.com), an assisted living residential community in Duluth. She can be reached at 770-623-0617 or ED.DUL@smacommunity.net. Plantation South Duluth is managed by Senior Management Advisors (SMA), a leading operator of full service independent living, assisted living and Alzheimer’s care residential communities in Florida and Georgia.
