September 2021

grandma says by Tricia Vlasak
The Arts & Our
Grandchildren
How offering practical support to your
grandchildren pays off for the entire family
Creative and artistic pursuits help a
child’s brain develop connections
that will benefit them throughout the
rest of their lives. Put scientifically,
neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability
to form and reorganize synaptic
connections used for learning and
healing following a brain injury – is
achieved through exposure to the arts.
Whether it is music, dancing, visual
art, or some other creative pursuit,
a child’s participation in the arts will
quite literally benefit them for the rest
of their lives, even long after they have
stopped actively pursuing it.
This may come as a surprise: an
adult’s psychological resilience has
been linked to their exposure to the
creative arts as a child. Even as they
make their way through elementary
and high school, studies support the
importance of art. Many medical
schools require art courses as part of
the medical curriculum, noting that
performing arts, music, literature, and
the visual arts “build critical thinking,
observation, communication, bias
awareness, and empathy skills that
science just can’t provide.”
How does this have anything
to do with grandparenting? Because
one of the best ways grandparents
can support their grandchildren
is by participating in arts activities
with them. You could participate in
an activity–painting, singing, going
to a museum. Or, you could be the
chauffeur! Hear me out, there are a
ton of benefits to your grandchildren,
your children, and to you when you
step in to ferry grandkids to various
afterschool activities.
In addition to being a huge help
to the parents, there is nothing quite
as special as the time you spend
supporting your grandchildren just
by being there. I remember my
grandmother picking my sister and
me up from school and driving us to
piano or dance lessons as a child. I
remember her sitting proudly in the
stands, watching me play my trumpet
with the high school marching band.
I remember her being at every dance
recital, ready to take us out to ice
cream afterward. She sat in the pew
at church, beaming as we sang or
played our instruments in front of the
Don’t live close to your
grandchildren? Here are three
ways you can support their
developing creativity:
1. Purchase blank watercolor
postcards and address to yourself and
stamp them. Ask your grandchildren’s
parents to encourage them to write
or draw you something every couple
of weeks. What a treasure to have a
tangible record of their growth and
their drawing matures and they learn
to write.
2. Send each grandchild a book a
month. Focus on books with beautiful
illustrations. If you can afford it, buy
yourself the same book and spend
some Zoom time reading aloud to your
grandchild as they follow along in their
own book.
3. Do crafts together. There’s no
reason why you can’t both participate
in a craft together virtually. Simple
things like coloring in a coloring book
or drawing together can be done
virtually. As the holidays get closer,
how about carving pumpkins or making
holiday decorations? It takes a little
planning but you’ll both have wonderful
memories of time spent together.
congregation. My parents separated
when I was pretty young. By the time
I was seven or eight, my mom was
trying to take care of us by herself,
often requiring her to work nights and
weekends. It felt like my grandma was
there, part of almost every activity. It
never occurred to me that she was
helping my mom. In my childish way,
I just assumed she just wanted to give
up her free time to take us everywhere.
Some of the best conversations
I had with my grandmother were in
her car on the way to whatever lesson
or performance I was headed to that
day. That kind of love and interest in
me was priceless. Not only did it give
me confidence, but it also gave me
a sense of stability. When the phrase
“latchkey kids” was coined, my sister
and I weren’t those kids. We had our
grandma.
The role of grandparents has
morphed over the years. Families don’t
always stay put, and grandparents
can be too far away to be physically
involved in daily activities. But for
those who remain geographically
close, participating in the afterschool
activities of grandchildren benefits all
members of the family.
My grandma has been gone now
for about 17 years. But she continues
to be a part of my daily life because
of those hours she spent with me,
shuttling me everywhere I needed
to be. I hope that my grandkids will
look back on these days with similar
warmth and love.
tricia vlasAK is a mother,
grandparent, and wife. She works in
law enforcement when she isn’t writing
about parenting, hiking with her dogs,
or going on adventures.
12 montereybayparent.com MONTEREY BAY PARENT • september 2021