From Edition 5 – December 2007
Driving in the car last week, I was listening to Finn and his friend Will discussing their grandparents. “My Pop’s name is Tom. And my Nan’s name is Marge. When we go to their place, we get lollies. And sausage rolls.”  Finn countered, “Well at my Nana and Gargan’s place we get skinny cheese and cordial.”

I grinned inwardly at these little men boasting about their grandparents with such pride, and then I began to think about visiting my own grandparents when I was little.

My Nanna would take us ‘angels’ to the supermarket and buy whatever we wanted - water iceblocks, party pies for tea, and those tiny boxes of cereal. My Grandma would take us out on the deck and sandwich a brick of vanilla ice-cream between two wafers, and laugh good-naturedly as our heads ached with ‘brain freeze’.

But today’s grandparents are about a whole lot more than food and treats. The Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that grandparents are major providers of child-care, especially for the very young. Almost 20% of 0-12 yr olds were cared for by grandparents in any given school week. And when it comes to caring for one year old bubs, 33% were entrusted to their grandparent. 

Society is changing at a rapid rate, even from when today’s parents were children. With longer working hours, more women in the workforce, more dual income families (to service those ever-increasing mortgage payments) and child care becoming more expensive, grandparents are
stepping into the breach and once again proving that they are worth their weight in gold.

And what of those 22,500 Australian families made up of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren full-time? Instead of planning their retirement and travelling, they are back in the swing of toilet-training, homework and discipline. That’s what you call true love.

My own mother (my kids’ Nana) likes the quote, “If you knew how much fun it was being a grandparent, you would have done it first”. Freed from the restraints of nutritional requirements, tidy rooms and sensible bed-times, it really is more fun at Nana and Gargan’s place. Or Man-Parn and Lady Parn’s place. Or a visit with Gigli, Darma, Gan Gan or Oompa. Or whatever other strange name the eldest grandchild made up for their grandparents.

My kids are blessed to still have two great-grandparents, as well as all their grandparents. I want to make sure that they know my grandparents, and that they will remember them when they are older. Each year we go out to my Nanna’s place and decorate her Christmas tree for her, as she loves to watch the kids do it. She knits cool jumpers for them and reads them endless stories. Over and over and over again. Because that’s what grandparents do. The stuff that parents often don’t have time or money or energy for.

It’s Grandma that provides the best clothes my children own, Grandad that finds the best dinosaur toys. Where would we be without grandparents? Warming little feet in big hands. Cooking chocchip muffins and not noticing when a few chips go astray. Putting a fractious baby to sleep when no-one else can.

I love watching my kids with their grandparents, because it’s like watching all the best parts of my childhood, but sweeter.