18 Sweet Examples of Grandparents and Grandkids Taking Care of Each Other
Grandparents give the best advice, are always available for a hug and know just what to say to make their grandkids feel better. And when your child has special needs, the additional love and support a grandparent provides can make a huge difference.
Last week, we asked our readers on Facebook to share a moment they’ve witnessed between their child and his or her grandparents. Here are some of your responses.
1. “Our son is highly sensitive to having his hands touched and doesn’t generally allow it, but one day during a walk, he gently placed his hand inside my dad’s hand and walked beside him. It was such a tender moment.” — Kate Sytsma
2. “The look on my mother’s face the first time my son called her ‘Grandma’ when he was 5 years old.” — Genelle Thomas
3. “I think some of the most special moments are some of the simplest, like the sweet hugs and cuddles, or how excited my son gets when he sees his grandparents.” — Anne Wilson
4. “My 20-year-old daughter, Lissy, who has nonverbal autism, functions at about a 2-year-old level. Lissy and her grandma are very close. Here she is saying goodbye to Grandma at the nursing home.” — Shelly Boeve
5. “My 12-year-old son has autism, PTSD and anger management problems. His biggest supporters are his grandma and granddad. They watch every test and come to every tournament they can. When Grandma had to have surgery last year for cancer, she took my son’s karate black belt with her and returned it to him only when she left the hospital.” — Kimberley Hauser
6. “My 10-year-old holds my mom’s hand to help her when they are walking. If she walks too slowly, he pushes her from behind.” — Sara Garcia Carrillo
7. “My parents came to the hospital to see my newborn son, who has Down syndrome and autism. At that point, we weren’t certain if he would live or die. My parents were old and unable to travel, but they needed to see and hold him. It was and is so precious to me. They have since passed away, but my son is now 16 and is doing just fine.” — Loes van Doorn
8. “I have two sons with special needs. The oldest has nonverbal autism and the youngest has a seizure disorder, is nonverbal and has limited mobility. All of their grandparents have loved them since day one.” — Dana Pedersen
9. “My 2-year-old engaged her poppi in a fast-paced game of ‘mimic my gestures.’ She had him in stitches while he struggled to keep up with her.” — Gretchen Morris
10. “My son looked at his great-grandma’s birthday cake and asked her, ‘GG, were you alive when dinosaurs roamed the earth?’ She hugged him and they had a giggle.” — Jessica Carpenter
11. “When her great-grandmother comes to visit, she runs to her with so much joy and love on her face.” — Jennifer Elizabeth
12. “My daughter loves my parents so much. Whenever we go over to their house, she starts saying ‘teteh’ (Arabic for ‘grandma’) as soon as we reach their street! And whenever she picks up a new word, she’ll repeat it over and over again to my parents who applaud her every single time with the same enthusiastic manner.” — Tala Rifai
13. “My 5-year-old son has autism and is mostly nonverbal but has started using simple sentences. Yesterday, when his Papa was holding him, he reached over to Nana and, hugging both grandparents, said, ‘One more hug.’” — Lorie McNabney
14. “My mom and my son have a special relationship. She babysat him for many years, and he loves to hide her keys from her every time she comes to visit.” — Dawn Rewerts Jenks
15. “My daughter, who has Down syndrome and autism, adored her grandpa. He had a connection with her not many have had with my daughter.” — Liz Esterline Roush
16. “My 5-year-old son has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and wears splints (AFOs). My father had both his legs amputated when I was a little girl and he wears prosthetics. They met for the second time last year, and my son was very excited to see that his grandpa also had to wear things on his legs to help him walk.” — Taryn Morritt Botha
17. “My son loves the Titanic. Anything to do with it. His Paw Paw spends hours with him making shipyards and Titanics and watching YouTube videos. They have such a special bond.” — Toni Baldwin Mabry
18. “Here they are last night at dinner.” — Ellen Russo
*Some responses have been edited and shortened.
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Rachel Kassenbrock is an Associate Editor at The Mighty. She recently graduated from the College of Wooster with a degree in English, and has previously written for the Ms. magazine blog and LifeinLA.com. She now lives in Los Angeles where she enjoys live music, being outside and all things coffee-related. You can follow her at @rkassenbrock or email her at rachel@themighty.com.
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