Practicing, "Bringing Generations Together"

Sharing ourselves with younger generations keeps us young.
Childtrends reports 47% of all grandparents provide child care assistance with young grandchildren living nearby and a growing number of grandfathers are getting involved
as well. I found this fact rather surprising, a higher number of grandparents who are employed and live close to their grandchildren provide child care than those who are retired. Childtrends also reported that approximately 1 in 5 grandparents are being paid for their help.
What do all these information mean? Families need the assistance of family and close friends and we can all benefit from time together. More than one of our friends who are grandparents have made the decision that they want to live close to their grandchildren, sold their houses and moved closer to their families. Another couple reported taking their son and five other young adults to the Boundary Waters. Most of these teenage children had never been fishing or had the experience of eating fresh fish over the open fire.
This past month, I enjoyed the opportunity of getting together with two of my son's, two of my brothers, four of my cousins, my father and friends on a trip to Lake Milac, MN. We spent the day on a launch, caught two fish and had a wonderful time catching up on life experiences. Summer is not over. There is still time for you to "Bring Generations Together." Make plans now! If you have read or personally experienced the benefits of spending time with children, we would love to hear your story.