I am very upset. My daughter, Nancy, and her husband, Frank, have three kids under the age of ten. We live near each other so my husband and I see our grandchildren quite often. Frank is arrogant. For example, he has his Ph.D. and he makes sure you never forget it. He is quick to […]
Author: Dr. Karen Rancourt
Karen L. Rancourt, Ph.D., has over 50 years of varied experience. She began her career an elementary school teacher, went on to become a college professor, management consultant to Fortune 100 companies, career coach, and author of six books and a dozens of articles. Dr. Rancourt has helped thousands of parents, professionals and grandparents make important relationship decisions.
Ask Dr. Gramma Karen: Mother Not Wanted at Memorial Service
My sister Nora recently died unexpectedly from a heart attack. Nora’s son Ted was married to Carla; they are the parents of 10-year-old twins, Eddie and Mac, who were very close to Nora and are heartsick over the loss of their grandmother (their paternal grandfather died long before they were born). Nora confided in me […]
The Squabbling Grandparents
My husband Rick and I are the parents of twelve-month-old Martin. The problem you can help us with is my in-laws, Gracie and Hal. Apart they are the nicest, most pleasant people you’d ever want to meet. However, when they are together they constantly bicker with each other over the stupidest stuff. Gracie says the […]
Request to Grandparents: Get Your Affairs in Order
Dear Readers, Young parents and grandparents alike have asked me about various issues related to wills, living wills, long-term healthcare and arrangements for death. For example, one grandmother says, “For the life of me I cannot get my husband to talk about his wishes regarding his death and remains. Even though we’re only in our […]
Readers Respond to Guilt-Ridden Grandfather
Many readers responded to my column “Grandfather Is Guilt-Ridden about Grandson’s Accident” with an outpouring of empathy, encouragement and sharing of their own experiences. The responses seemed to reflect three major themes, with the first theme along the lines of the phrase made famous in 1510 by John Bradford, who served Henry VIII of England, as […]
Grandparents Worry That Wealth Will Spoil Their Grandchildren
My husband and I will soon be first-time grandparents when our daughter delivers twins. We are over-the-moon happy, but we do have a major worry. Both our daughter and her husband are successful bankers and make a lot of money. They have a full-time staff of a driver, a housekeeper and they each have a […]
Grandfather Is Guilt-Ridden About Grandson’s Accident
I am the grandfather of a 16-month-old boy, Donald. For financial reasons Donald and his parents live with my wife and me; they have lived with us since before Donald was born. Last week while I was keeping an eye on him, he pulled my steaming bowl of soup onto himself. My wife and I […]
Our Son and His Family Are Temporarily Living with Us
Our son Danny and his wife Cheryl have two children, four-year-old Gretchen and two-year-old Nate. When Danny and his family, who live in another state, decided to build a new home, he called and said they needed to live with us for five months while their new home is being built. We are now into […]