Is it just me or do some people love their grandchildren more than they love their own kids? It's a question that's been bothering me for quite some time, obviously because it's a personal problem I have to deal with... Well, I do not see it as a problem, it's not something that keeps me up at night, but I would like to understand why.
On several occasions, I've heard my mother refer to her granchildren as "my children"...Like "you take care of my children or else..." Sometimes I let it slide, but on more than one occasion I kind of snapped and pointed out that said children are actually mine. (Let me make it clear - my mother has not been involved in their rearing more than the occasional baby-sitting gig so there's no reason for her to consider herself their mother.)
I have, of course, considered the possibilty that I'm not quite as likable as I see myself...but I don't remember ever getting that much attention and care from my mother when I was my daughter's age. I don't have issues, I have a kind and supportive mother and I've had a happy childhood and all that. It's just the constant feeling that I was never loved quite like that.
I've read somewhere that people tend to bond more with their granchildren because they're past the daily struggle to juggle both work and family and have more time to appreciate their family. (I don't quite buy this somehow.)
Or maybe it's because they were too busy raising their own kids to really see what a blessing they are.
Or could it just be that at some point parents lose interest in us and turn to their grandchildren, as they are the future. Survival of the species...
I would really like to hear your experiences and what you make of them.