Grandparenting Teens: Leaving a Legacy of Hope

There are natural communication barriers between grandparents and their teenage grandkids:

• new and old cultures collide and the relationship sometimes flies out the window
• hurtful words stab at a grandparent trying to help
• memories are missed and arguments explode in a family

Both grandparents and grandkids face these triggers, but from opposite sides. And sometimes they result in teens getting into drugs, kids smoldering in unexpressed anger that deepens into depression, and kids even harming themselves. The teenagers want attention and relationships; grandparents want to help.

Help is available from author and well-known family expert Mark Gregston who has worked in teenage and family ministries such as Young Life and his own program, Heartlight, for over forty years. For Gregston, it’s all about relationships. Teens need to find out why they think no one understands them. And they need help to guide them through this contradictory world. Grandparenting Teens is a valuable resource that helps grandparents love their teens and relate to them in genuine, honest, life-changing ways.

This book gives practical tips on how to start grandparenting teens in a way that fosters connection. Mark teaches skills such as getting everyone to listen—really listen. As a grandparent, you can help your teen learn to paint their honest, big-picture perspective, so no one’s left out of their world. They will learn gratefulness instead of giving grief. They will recognize when their grandparent understands their troubles and becomes their role model for life when everyone else turns away. And both grandparents and teens will find their point of contact—their bond. Gregston’s stories will entertain you. They will teach you. They will move you. Some will even change your life.

Mark Gregston began working with teens over forty years ago as a youth minister and Young Life director. He and his wife Jan founded Heartlight, a residential counseling center for struggling teens and families in crisis. He has authored nearly two dozen books, has written hundreds of articles, and is the host of the nationally acclaimed Parenting Today’s Teens podcast and radio broadcast, heard on over 1,800 radio outlets throughout North America.

Mark and Jan are the proud grandparents of four: Maile, Macie, Chase, and Carter.