Be the family storyteller and culture keeper

Another rare gift you have to give is in being able to share stories that paint a picture of your family’s cultural heritage and personal legacy.

As your grandchildren get a little older, tell them stories. There are many kinds of stories you can tell to help your grandchild strengthen his or her brain and to give your grandchild a sense of family and belonging.

Sharing stories about family heroes is a wonderful way to help your grandchild connect to pride and self-esteem for your family’s ancestral journeys.

Sharing stories about where and how you grew up can paint a vivid picture of a time gone by and demonstrate how what you experienced in your lifetime provides a whole wellspring of knowledge you have to share with your grandbaby.

Here are a few additional suggestions about topics from a great resource we like, TalkingisTeaching.org. These are particularly fun and important.

• Celebrate your family history. Cuddle up at home and share a fun story about a cultural family tradition. Talk together about why what you do as a family is important to you.
• Share a memory. Tell your grandson about a favorite childhood memory. Ask your grandchild to share one of his favorite memories, too.
• Empower your grandchild. Explain a time when you were a child and it may have been difficult to learn how to do something new. What or who helped you learn to get better? You might ask, “What can grandma/grandpa do to help you learn something new?”