Self-Improvement | America Out Loud News · Self-Improvement | America Out Loud News

Grandparents make grand partners

·57 min·3 clips

Favoritism toward one grandchild can damage every family relationship around them.

1. America Out Loud News hosts Self-Improvement | America Out Loud News with Dr. Sherry Tenpenny and Lori Wildenberg discussing Grandparents Make Grand Partners. 2. Dr. Sherry Tenpenny is the host, and Lori Wildenberg is the author of Grandparents Make Grand Partners, a book about intentional, spiritually influential grandparenting. 3. The episode asks how grandparents can have an 'eternal impact on your grandchild's life' without damaging family relationships. 4. Wildenberg says she built nine grandparent personalities from informal observation of her parents, in-laws, and her own grandparents. 5. She names examples such as the 'chum,' the 'captain,' the 'surrogates,' and the 'ceremonial grandparent.' 6. She says the personalities are meant to help people identify strengths and downsides, not to assign a rigid label. 7. Wildenberg says an adult child's view of a grandparent changes how that grandparent role is actually lived out. 8. She says the book includes exercises and lists so readers can think through what kind of grandparent they are. 9. She emphasizes that any grandparent type can still become an 'intentional Christian grandparent.' 10. Tenpenny says the book is interactive and thought-provoking, and she says the exercises help readers reflect on their role. 11. Wildenberg says 'grandma wars' often flare around holidays, especially when one side feels less favored or gets less special time. 12. She says jealousy can show up when one grandparent has more time with the children or gives more gifts. 13. Her advice is to be flexible, avoid becoming the problem, and help create solutions for the adult children managing both families. 14. She says 'love grows' and 'it multiplies,' so family attention is not a fixed pie that has to be divided. 15. Wildenberg says photos matter because families notice whether both sides of the family are represented in the home. 16. She tells a family story about adding a fifth grandchild, taking another family picture, and joking about the need for more photos as babies arrive. 17. On favoritism, she says a grandparent should find a way to connect with each child, because favorites can spoil relationships with adult children and other grandchildren. 18. She says grandparents are second only to parents in influence over a grandchild's faith, morals, and values, and she uses that claim to argue for staying engaged. 19. The tone is conversational, faith-centered, and practical, with personal family examples, book excerpts, and listener-friendly advice. 20. Listeners interested in Christian family life and grandparenting will get the most from this episode, while people wanting a secular parenting debate may skip it.

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