The Joys of Grandkids

You've hit that magical stage in your life and you’re now a grandparent.  Congratulations!  What an exciting time as your kids have grown up and now you get to be a parent all over again but without the sleepless nights, tantrums and stress.  

Grandchildren not only fill a space in your heart

When your kids first left home you may have had dreams of turning the spare room into your ultimate space; whether it was a place for you to craft, a personal library or a home office.  But the reality is that with grandchildren, you’re going to need even more space. 
 
Due to the ever increasing cost of living and childcare, many grandparents are now getting actively involved with looking after their grandchildren to take some of the financial pressures off of their own kids.  So whether it’s for the occasional sleep over, family gatherings during the holidays, or a playroom, your dream of a converted spare room may be put on hold.

Getting on the property ladder is proving more and more difficult, therefore we are also starting to see a trend of (grand) parents helping their children purchase their first homes or to take another step up the property ladder, allowing them to get a more suitable family home.   However to do this, some may have to downsize to release equity in their homes.
 

Get your ducks in a row

Regardless of whether you’re converting your spare room or downsizing, retirement is a great time to start going through your possessions that you’ve accumulated over the last 20-30 years.  Your children will really appreciate that you’ve done this and not left them the difficult task of sorting through your belongings after you’re gone.  It can be a bit of an overwhelming task but there are some great suggestions when it comes to what you should save for your grandchildren on Grandparents.com including things like a photo of you and them, family recipes and your favourite childhood book.
  If you don’t have the space to store your items at home, you might consider renting a self storage unit for a little while.  Once you have condensed everything you can either take it home and store it, or downsize to a smaller storage unit.

Entertaining grandchildren can be challenging but you could get them involved in the process of going through your belongings, it’s a great chance to introduce them to some of your favourite childhood board games, classic books, funky fashion and retro tech, which will surely result in a lot of laughter, shock and disbelief. 

It will also give you a chance to chat with them and share some of your family history and stories.  Many of us don’t get a chance to do this and don’t realise how important it is until it’s too late.

Do you have any other suggestions on how to make more space for the Grandkids? If so, do leave us your ideas in the comments section of this post!