The 5 Biggest Mistakes That Grandparents Make

Bloom Productions via Getty Images The stronger your relationship with your adult child, the less likely you are to run into conflicts over care of your grandchildren. Likewise, you’ll want to let parents know about any ongoing commitments as well as your ability to “drop everything” to care for grandchildren if the parents are in a pinch. Communicating and finding out how they feel about certain subjects and other things regarding their child goes a long way toward ensuring grandparents don’t overstep,” Hansen said. “Circumventing the authority and wishes of the parents,” Hansen said, is “another area where grandparents get into trouble.” Whether the issue is gift giving or household rules, “if the adult children feel that their parenting ‘rules’ or schedules are ignored or undermined, it can bleed into other aspects of the relationship, including their trust,” Stilwell said. “Communicating and finding out how they feel about certain subjects and other things regarding their child goes a long way toward ensuring grandparents don’t overstep,” Hansen said.