For those lucky enough to meet and spend time with their grandparents, the moments and time shared together are priceless. The delicious meals prepared and cooked by grandmothers are unmatched and memorable. The stories told by grandfathers while waiting for fish to bite into the baits while fishing are fun and filled with laughter.
Everything grandparents do with their grandchildren is filled with warmth, love, and understanding. That’s why grandparents are unforgettable parts of their grandchildren’s lives. And once they pass away, they take a huge part of their family’s hearts with them.
Losing grandparents is heartbreaking and hard to get over with. And kids, especially toddlers or younger children, might not remember the time they spent with their grandparents. That’s why it’s important to help them remember. Here are a few ways to help kids recall and feel connected to their grandparents.
7 Ways To Help Kids Remember Their Grandparents
Remembering and honoring grandparents is important for all. Every family member has their own special way to recall and feel connected with their passed grandparents. Here are 7 heartfelt but easy ways for kids to remember their grandparents.
Share Memorable Stories With The Family
Children’s memories are not as sharp as adults’. Also, younger kids might not even remember their grandparents if they passed away too early. That’s why telling stories and showing photos are important.
Schedule a family day and let everyone share their favorite stories with their grandparents or parents to help the younger kids and generations remember. Also, bringing and showing photos are a good idea. These stories will make everyone feel connected and close to their grandparents and pass family memes.
Cook Grandparents’ Favorite Family Recipes
Every family has their own secret recipes. If there is a family recipe book, grandchildren and parents can use that and cook their grandparents’ favorite food. However, not all grandparents tend to write their exact recipes. This makes cooking their favorite food more difficult. If this is the case for you, ask your parents for assistance. They’ll surely have a lot of stories to share while helping you out.
Serving grandparents’ favorite meals is comforting and warming and makes everyone feel connected with them.
Turn Grandparents Photos Into Art
Showing photos to younger generations helps them remember and feel connected with their grandparents. However, photos can fade and get damaged easily. To ensure kids know what their grandparents look like, turn their photos into paintings for grandparents. These paintings can be hung and used as wall decor in the dining area and living rooms. Also, they’re great talking pieces.
You can commission talented artists from Memorialize Art to turn grandparents’ pictures or family photos into artwork.
Plant A Tree In Their Memory
Trees, flowers, and plants are a refreshing way to remember and honor grandparents. Plant a tree or plant to celebrate and represent the amazing life of your grandparents. Whenever the family member sees them blooming or growing, they’ll remember their grandparents or parents and all the memories shared together.
Visit Grandparents’ Grave Often
Visiting and paying your respects to grandparents’ or parents’ graves is important. It’s also a great idea to visit their resting place whenever you miss them or just want to talk to them. There’s no need to be shy and hold your emotions in. Sit down and talk to them quietly, just like how you talk to them when they’re still alive.
There’s no need to spend a whole day, just a few hours to talk or pray for them and clean their graves is enough. If family members are free, you can make it a family reunion or gathering.
Celebrate Grandparents’ Birthday And Death Anniversary Every Year
Birthdays and anniversaries are always special when spent with people you love and cherish. Even if the celebrants have passed, it’s still good to remember and celebrate their birthdays and death anniversaries with them. If the family can’t go to the grandparents’ graves, they can just light up a candle or cook their grandparents’ favorite dishes and pray for them. Encourage everyone to tell their favorite stories, including the kids.
Create A Memory Photo Book
A memory book is where all the grandparents’ photos are put together. Everyone in the family can join in and add their favorite pictures. Allocate a space where every family member can write down their favorite stories or details of the photos.
Everyone can add to the photo book and pass it on to the future generation. It can be used as a reference for kids when they’re tasked to make family trees in school.
Why Is It Important to Remember Grandparents and Other Family Members?
Grandparents are special and big parts of their children’s and grandchildren’s lives. They connect us to our roots and help us stay grounded and understand where we came from. By ensuring grandchildren remember their grandparents, you’ll help them feel grounded and cherish their roots more. Also, the teachings of grandparents and older generations can be used as a guide to a more comfortable and better life journey.
Kids should be able to enjoy and feel the love of their grandparents. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough and grandparents don’t live forever. By showing photos, sharing stories, and cooking grandparents’ favorite meals, every grandchild can remember and feel connected to their grandparents, even after they passed away.
