🩵 The Memaw Method: What Parents Need to Know About Grandparents (According to Memaw)

By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | October 2025

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You raised your kids right. Now let us help raise them again, without stepping on your toes (too much).

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Honey, being a grandparent in 2025 is like trying to assemble a smartphone without the manual. We’re doing our best, but the rules have changed since we were the ones making them. Between “gentle parenting,” screen-time debates, and the new allergy to unsolicited advice, some of us old-timers are tiptoeing around our grown kids like cats on a hot tin roof.

But hear me out, sweet parents of the world. Here’s what we need you to know, straight from Memaw’s porch to your heart.

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1️⃣ We Want to Help … Not Hijack

We know these are your babies now. We had our turn. But when we offer a tip or tell a story that starts with, “Well, when you were little…,” it’s not to undercut you. It’s to connect. Our experience is our love language.

Memaw’s Tip: When we chime in, take what’s useful and leave the rest, but don’t swat our words away. Sometimes what sounds like old-fashioned advice is just love in overalls.

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2️⃣ We Still Need to Feel Needed

We might be retired, but our hearts aren’t. Nothing aches quite like feeling unnecessary. When parents cut us out of decisions, or only call when the babysitter cancels, it stings more than we’ll admit.

Memaw’s Tip: Ask for our help before you’re desperate. Let us be part of the rhythm, not just the rescue.

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3️⃣ We’re Learning Too (and Honey, It’s a Lot)

We’re trying to keep up with new rules: no sugar, no screen time, no “boys will be boys.” We’re reading about attachment theory and sleep regressions, bless our hearts. But it’s a lot of reprogramming for folks who grew up with rotary phones and playpens made of metal.

Memaw’s Tip: When we get it wrong, correct us kindly. We’ll meet you halfway, maybe more, if you don’t roll your eyes on the journey.

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4️⃣ Grandparenting Isn’t a Job, It’s a Calling

We’re not free childcare; we’re family. The hours we spend rocking, teaching, and listening are sacred to us, not a service. We’d do anything for our grandbabies, but respect goes both ways.

Memaw’s Tip: Treat time with grandparents as relationship, not relief. You’ll raise stronger, more connected kids … and make us feel like we still matter.

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5️⃣ We Love Watching You Parent (Even When It’s Different)

You’re doing things we never imagined: therapy for toddlers, talking about feelings, gentle boundaries … and honestly? We’re proud. You’re raising kind kids in a wild world, and even if we tease about it, we’re cheering you on.

Memaw’s Tip: Let us brag on you. We might not say it enough, but seeing you do what we once tried to do, only better, fills us right up.

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💜 Memaw’s Final Word

Grandparenting isn’t about control. It’s about legacy. Love passed through generations like recipes without the measurements. So next time we step on your parenting toes, remember: we’re just trying to dance the same family dance we taught you.

Because, sugar, families don’t stay strong by being perfect. They stay strong by being patient.

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🩵 The Memaw Method: What Teens Need to Know About Their Grandparents

🩵 The Memaw Method: What Today’s Grandparents Need to Know About Today’s Teens