Grandma and grandpa can be a big back-to-school help! Here are 3 things you can do

SALT LAKE CITY — Grandparents often cheer from the second row, watching their grandkids grow, learn and reach new milestones. When it comes to helping kids transition back to school, nanas and papas can actually play a critical role.

KSL Parenting Contributor Heather Johnson shared three superpowers grandparents have that will be a big boost to the school year. Research actually supports the benefits grandparents can have, and you don't have to be in daily contact to make a difference.

"Moderate activity or engagement with your grandchildren actually helps grandchildren have more social skills, have more resilience, have higher self-confidence," Johnson explained. "I love to say a once-a-week touch in is a really great place."

She also emphasized that parents can either help or hinder the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Even if the relationship isn't perfect, Johnson asked parents to recognize the value grandparents bring into their kids' lives.

"Parents stand in the way or else they help facilitate the relationship," Johnson noted. "The influence they can have is so powerful and beneficial."

Grandparents give kids emotional stability

Kids going back to school have a lot of worries, and they don't always talk about them.

"They have a million tiny insecurities that are running through their minds all the time," Johnson explained.

The power of grandparents is that they love unconditionally. Kids may focus on popularity, grades or performance, but grandparents just care about them.

"They don't care what grades a kid gets. They don't care what clothes they wear to school. They don't care if they're popular on the playground or not," Johnson said. "Grandparents can be this anchor with this stability."

One of the best ways grandparents can provide emotional stability is through conversation.

"Call your grandchildren once a week," she suggested. "Always have your conversations be no-fix conversations."

Grandparents don't need to solve kids' problems or give advice every time they share something difficult.

"You're simply just listening to them," Johnson said.

Just listening helps children feel seen and supported.

Grandparents remind kids who they are, not who they need to become

School puts kids in comparative environments. From grades and sports to clothes and friendships, kids are constantly comparing themselves to their peers. Grandparents give them a counterbalance because they see children through a much wider lens. Grandparents can remind children who they've always been.

"They can offer this new perspective that eradicates the comparison," Johnson said.

When encouragement comes from a grandparent, they are providing kids with identity.

"Identity is the antidote to insecurity," Johnson emphasized.

She said to be specific with praise and consistently reinforce positive traits you've witnessed over time.

"Create a motto with your grandkids," Johnson said. "A motto that the two of you share that supports the identity that you see in them."

Grandparents help kids regulate by slowing the pace

"Where parents are rushed, grandparents bring a rhythm," Johnson said.

Our lives are busy, but kids need moments of calm and consistency. Grandparents can provide that.

"In order for our children to slow down and be grounded, they need rhythm, not rush," Johnson said. "[Grandparents] are not rushed in things ... There is a pace to them that is steady, and it is consistent."

Johnson said to intentionally share activities with grandkids that require patience and persistence.

"Teach your grandkids something that takes a lot of time," she suggested. "Allow them to see this pace."

Things like baking bread, sewing, doing puzzles or other slow, hands-on activities. They not only build skills, they help kids experience a different rhythm than the busy environment they're in the middle of every day.

This story was adapted from a TV broadcast script using artificial intelligence. Every story, including those adapted with AI, is reviewed by a human editor before publication to ensure that KSL's editorial standards are upheld.