The Smart Guide for Today's Parents Using Traditional Family Care

Traditional family caregiving can span multiple generations, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or friends who feel like family filling primary roles in your child’s life. While this community is an invaluable privilege, navigating each of our approaches to safety and caregiving across generations and perspectives demands thoughtful communication and direct planning.

Understanding Their Perspective

Our parents raised their families in a different era of parenting and may different perspectives from you when it comes to your child’s safety. What was standard parenting styles twenty or thirty years ago may not align with current safety recommendations. Acknowledging these generational differences is a vital first step to creating a nurturing environment for your child.

To maintain constancy, make sure everyone understands your perspectives on:

• Emergency Next-Steps: Make sure each caregiver has access to your child’s emergency contacts, medical details, and is up to date on basic first aid procedures (CPR training, wound care, and poison control).
• Safe Sleep Practices: Confirm that everyone is aware of updated guidelines for safe sleep practices, appropriate bedding, and crib safety for your littlest ones. Some of these guidelines have changed significantly since our parents were parents.
• Food Safety: Have crystal clear conversations about choking hazards, proper food preparation, allergies, and rules for introducing new foods.
• Car Seat Safety: Share car seat requirements and proper installation methods for safe transportation.

Acknowledging Generational Differences

Many elderly caregivers successfully raised children of their own, so opening conversations with them with acknowledging their experience with empathy and respect can go a long way. Here are a few strategies to utilize when coordinating your child’s care:

• Schedule Regular Family Check-ins: Use these check-ins to chat about your child’s routines and promptly address any concerns as they arise.
• Establish Shared Resources: Start a caregiver group chat or shared digital folder with any key information about your child and family.
• Practice Anything New Together: Anytime you have a new piece of gear or safety gadget, make sure to demonstrate how to properly use it.
• Set Clear Boundaries: Lay out your expectations about non-negotiable safety rules and stay flexible on opinions that aren’t essential for your child’s well-being.

Ensuring Safety in Different Homes

If your child is being cared for in someone else’s home, work together with them to check their environment for any potential hazards, help them make any safety modifications, and supply items like cabinet locks or outlet covers.

As you support each other in your respective roles in your kiddo’s life, help them feel confident by always providing clear instructions they can reference about your non-negotiables, promptly let them know if you have any updates to your preferences, and be available to them if they have any questions or concerns.

Lean Into Your Unique Strengths

Multi-generational caregiving is a wonderful tradition that offers unique and beautiful benefits for your entire family. As you work collaboratively to care for your kiddo, you’re creating a safe and empowering environment for them to grow up in. As you each lean into your unique strengths, you’re creating a space where your child can thrive.