Summary: The role of the grandparent is ill-defined in American Society. Many grandparents have become stand-in parents and many are completely cut off from their progeny, but most function somewhere in the middle ground, building strong connections with their grandchildren, while not serving as matriarchal or patriarchal all-knowing elders. What kind of grandparent did you have or are you? In honor of Grandparents’ Day, September 12, I talk with my mother, Amelia’s grandmother, about the four types of “challenging grandparents.” We also look specifically at the art of long-distance grandparenting, a common dilemma in American society. Long-distance relationships may decrease contact but they do not necessarily lessen the bond between a grandchild and his/her grandparent. Articles: “Over the River and Through the Woods: Long Distance Grandparenting” by Nancy Kalish in Psychology Today, 3 June 2010 “The Four Types of Challenging Grandparents” by Kelly Mills in The Poop in the San Francisco Chronicle, 24 July 2007 The Art of Grandparenting
