Are Boomer Grandparents Enthusiastic or Overbearing?

[Nov3]

Since this topic is on enthusiasm or overbearing- here's my two cents.
As a Boomer - who is a grandparent, bring on the free babysitting, bring on those moments of relearning how to be a parent to this current generation. Yet rarely do I get asked , and rarely do I even understand how to parent my grand daughters. I refer back to how my son and Dil wish to guide them. I seriously doubt I can be a decent parent ....times changed and I didn't reknew my subscription. .
My granddaughters still are my heart's delight. They are a handful some times . As they should be, they are inquisitive!
No I don't think boomers are overbearing, I do think adults can have stern ideas . Experience at any age does happen.
Share it, declare it. And sometimes spare it because we each deserve to have that : what was I thinking 'moment'.

[mgkeith]

I'm a Boomer who raised four kids with my husband and we were the sole caretakers. We do babysit occasionally and helped out more when the grandchildren were newborns. We made it clear to our kids that we don't want to be tied down with childcare, as we feel that we had enough childcare years (especially me). Certainly we want to help if there is an emergency, and we contribute to 529 funds once a year and modestly.



Overbearing? I don't think so. I let them make their own decisions as to how they raise their kids, and give advice only when asked. We don't feel a need to see them for more than a weekly visit, as they are very young. Play with them and hand them back to Mom and Dad at evening's end, what a pleasure!

[silibran]

Originally Posted by Shallow Hal

Just a somewhat off track thought but have you ever noticed that baby boomers, Gen Z and millennials are always mentioned but never Gen X? I mean, what happened to that generation? They are pretty much never mentioned on any threads.....

All three of my adult kids are Gen X. The one who is a parent is doing an excellent jib.