Grandparents as Mediators

Raising children these days can be incredibly difficult, and as children grow into their teenage years the relationship between them and their parents can become incredibly strained.  Fortunately, those families that are lucky enough to have grandparents in close contact can take advantage of the family matriarch or patriarch to help defuse these kinds of tense situations.  The role of the grandparent as family mediator should always be handled with the utmost of caution and respect, but it can be a valuable tool for restoring family harmony and unity.

An important part of the grandparent's role in family disputes is age, and the wisdom that comes with it.  Now while most of us will admit that age and wisdom don't necessarily have anything to do with each other, the life experience of the older generation can have a profound psychological effect on younger generations.  Advice from an older relative often bears extra weight, and can go a long way towards helping a youngster realize the error of his or her ways.  Even when the parent and grandparent are on the same side of the argument, children are generally more receptive to their extended families.

When the parent and grandparent disagree, however, the issue should be handled very carefully.  It's easy for a parent to take umbrage at their own parent stepping into a dispute in which they feel they are in the right; they might view it as simple outside interference, which can bring up old parent-child tensions.  Grandparents must carefully counsel their own children to look at the issue from the grandchild's point of view, and a reminder of similar disputes when they were growing up might be a way to help defuse the problem.  Either way, a grandparent can serve as a valuable communications conduit between generations that might not be communicating as well as they'd like.