2010 Calendar
Date Host Presenter Sep 19 Carleen Heidi Feldman Nov 7 Irene Gabrielle Miller
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September 19, 2010 Meeting
A Delicate Balance: Disciplining Your Grandchildren
Have you ever disciplined your grandchild? How did you handle it? This issue has come up on our Big Tent discussion forum. Two "seasoned" grandmas, whose grandchildren visit often, offered some suggestions.
At our September 19 meeting, GaGa Heidi will lead a discussion on this topic. As Professor of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, Heidi has led parent groups on strategies for disciplining children.
Bring a challenging discipline situation you've faced and tell us how you handled it, what went well, and what you wish you'd done differently. We'll brainstorm alternatives and discuss some of the issues that may impact the relationship with the parents of your grandchildren.
GaGa Carleen will host in Woodside, CA.
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November 7 Meeting
At our meeting we'll have the opportunity to meet Gabrielle Miller, Executive Director of Raising A Reader, and learn tips and activities for sharing books with our grandchildren.
She'll explain some of the new research on children's reading acquisition skills and the delightful experience she calls "book cuddling." She'll show us some ways we can help our grandchildren develop language and reading readiness so they'll succeed in school and in life. |
Big Tent Forum
One of the main reasons I use Big Tent is to provide you with a place to discuss issues, share resources, and ask advice.
I've enjoyed seeing some of your recent conversations on disciplining grandchildren, holiday travel, and how to enjoy one grandchild at a time.
I hope you'll continue using this members-only online community since it's one of the ways for both remote and local members to connect.
I've also changed the settings so now you can post a topic anonymously, if you wish.
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Greetings!
In case you haven't heard, the GaGa Sisterhood was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle's Datebook section on August 5. Grandmas, and even one grandpa, responded from all over California! Some joined, some wanted information, and some had ideas and resources they wanted to share with us. It's been very gratifying and affirms my belief that grandmas want to connect with each other. The GaGa Sisterhood is providing a vehicle to make that happen.
I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new members and say how glad I am that you found us. I look forward to meeting you either in person or virtually.
If you're looking for a reason to celebrate with your grandchildren, consider getting together on September 12 -- National Grandparents Day. I've included some history and ideas about the celebration below.
In Sisterhood, |
National Grandparents Day
Does your family celebrate National Grandparents Day? Many of you may not even know about this celebration that was founded over 30 years ago by Marian McQuade, grandmother of 43 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. I wrote a post about her last year after learning that McQuade had passed away.
McQuade campaigned for this national day of recognition because of the lack of attention that was given to the elderly in her community. The U.S. Congress passed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day and President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation in 1978. The National Grandparents Day website states three purposes in celebrating:
To honor grandparents To give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's
children To help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance
older people can offer
The first one is in the hands of our grandchildren's parents. The other two seem like what we normally do when we get together with our families. Although McQuade's intention was to make the celebration of this day more purposeful, I read that she declined Hallmark's requests to commercialize it.
The website suggests some family activities for the day: - Complete a family tree chart (printable sample online).
- Have a grandchild "interview" you about your life using video or recorder (sample questions provided online).
- Gather old family photos and write names and dates on backs.
- Tell stories about your memorable ancestors.
For a totally different take on the celebration I'd like to offer Barbara Graham's tongue-in-cheek perspective that she wrote last year on the Huffington Post. Graham is the author and editor of Eye of My Heart, which I reviewed on my blog.
Graham said that "Grandparents Day still hasn't caught on nationwide. The
holiday goes unobserved by 66% of U.S. grandparents and their
apparently ungrateful children." So she has proposed a great twist on
this unobserved holiday that I bet a lot of grandparents could really
sink their teeth into -- an amendment to its name and mission.
"Instead of the
wussy-sounding Grandparents Day," she proposes "we get real and change the
holiday's name to Let Grandparents Have
Their Say Day. This would be the one day of the year when
grandparents can say what they really think, without fear of reprisal from the
parents of their grandchildren." She goes on to say that we grandparents adore our children and believe
they're doing a fantastic job of raising our grandchildren. But being
"rabble-rousers in the 1960s, we've morphed into the Silent Generation
when it comes to speaking our minds to our adult children."
Graham also
quotes a poll which states that 58% of grandparents said they
keep mum on the subject of how their grandchildren are being raised.
Graham ends her cleverly written editorial by apologizing for her
self-indulgence but pleads her case for one day a year when we can speak
our minds without consequences. She lists the "Top 20 Things Grandparents Would Say if They Could."
What would you say to your kids if there were no consequences?
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The GaGa Zone
Please continue sending me pictures and stories of you with your grandchildren for the GaGa Zone. GaGa Ingrid flew to Paris to celebrate her granddaughter Lena's Bat Mitzvah. That's the proud mother (Ingrid's daughter), Deborah, in the middle.
GaGa Janet celebrated her granddaughter Hailey's first birthday this month.
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