Wednesday, November 03, 2004
What's New on the Intergenerational Discussion Forum
This website is the first discussion site of ACU National, developed specifically for intergenerational exchange to enable grandparents to meet and chat with grandchildren. It is both interactive and enriching, and aims to link the young and over 50s for discussion on topics of their choice. In addition, it offers the opportunity to make new friends around the world.Grandparents and grandchildren are the linchpins for promoting peace and harmony in the family and school. But so often that role is ill defined. Many people in their 50s were brought up with traditions of obedience, authority, and respect; but this situation is now changing. Of course, problems are normal and they do happen in one’s lifetime. Now we are often faced with many challenges including communication with adult children and grandchildren, long distance grandparenting and, for some, divorced grandparents.Today, many children are encouraged to speak their minds and share their feelings at any time. Grandparents are now faced with a cultural difference between the way they remember their own upbringing and recent approaches to child development. So, what can grandparents do to accept this change? First, parents and grandparents need to become a team in relating with grandchildren. This requires a delicate balance and good communication.Furthermore, being a friendly and informal website, the aim is to invite specialists in related fields to participate in the forum discussion and respond to readers’ questions. In the long-term, the website aspires to influence decision-making and government policy.
posted by Monika Bhatia at
3:05 PM
