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Grandparents Minnesota Style is designed for today’s grandparent who wants to spend more time discovering the world with his or her grandchildren. While we see value in some of Minnesota’s larger, more “commercial” options, we prefer locations that offer a little more culture, history and oneness with nature. You won’t find places like Valleyfair or the Mall of America in this book, but you will learn why we think you should bring your grandchild to the State Capitol, Pipestone National Monument and even your local library.

This book is about opportunities for adult and child to have fun, laugh and share. Of course, Minnesota is ripe with more possibilities than we can ever cover, but this is a place to get you started. We decided to write this book because of our grandchildren – three boys and two girls. They provide us with a lot of fun, but we also have a responsibility to them. We must use our time together to help them learn and grow as individuals.

In successfully doing so, we had to stop and think about the knowledge we’ve gained through our experiences, how we learned those valuable life lessons and how we could pass our wisdom to our grandchildren. With the changing times, we found that several necessary experiences have become endangered. Some of them include solitude, silence, open space, dark night skies, free time, reading books, family meals and home-cooked food.

Several differences within our society have contributed to our grandchildren’s diminished opportunities. Consider the following:

1 In 1900, farmers accounted for forty percent of our census. By 1990, the total fell below two percent. Farms are no longer a part of most children’s experiences.

2 Open space was once a playground. Now it is slated for development. Children are left with only fenced yards and indoor locations.

3 The “out in the country” experience is disappearing. Urban sprawl has left us with an hour drive from the inner city to any country areas.

4 Tree climbing is a thing of the past. The trees are all but gone, and lawsuits limit access to just about everything. There is nothing left to take the modern Jacks and Jills up the beanstalk to their dreams.

5 The chance to be bored—which is an opportunity to be creative—isn’t in the schedule. Children are signed up for every organized activity and training available, eliminating family time and free time.

6 Sports used to be played for fun. Now we must choose a sport, send our kids to summer camps and act like winning is all that matters.

7 Canning, pickling and baking—all of those wonderful activities that filled the root-cellars and pantries of the past—have vanished.

8 We now have a new term – Nature Deficit Disorder – that was coined by Richard Louv to describe the fact that our children are being deprived of outdoor time and play, which are often substituted by electronic experiences.

Think about our earlier years, about all of the things that were so important to our lives and developments. These and many more are gone (or nearly so), and we can only reminisce about their absences: soda fountains, radio dramas, family TV, typewriters, telephone party lines, the ragman driving his horse cart, ice cream trucks and record players.

Today’s world has seen some bad and dangerous trends. Pollution has become an industry. Fast food (and obesity) is the norm. Meth and other deadly drugs flood our cities, our neighborhoods and our schools. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There are no simple solutions, yet the need for change is quite apparent. Fortunately, our grandchildren have us. The role of the grandparent is very different than it was when we were young kids, and we must adapt too. Here are a few reasons why:

1 Grandparents are living longer than ever before and can guide their grandchildren longer.

2 Parents work long days, filled with busy hours, just to pay for day care.

3 Grandparents can provide children with quiet times, new experiences, fewer electronics and more play.

4 Grandparents can help introduce children to healthier food; we have the time to prepare it and present it.

5 Children need to hear perspectives from someone other than peers and parents. They need our guidance and insight.

It comes down to a need to establish the extended family again, the new nuclear family of the twenty-first century. As grandparents, we must take it upon ourselves to lead the charge. Even if we live a long distance from a grandchild we can still connect through creative presents, maximizing visits, and old fashioned ‘snail’ mail such as postcards.

That’s not to say we should take on the role of mother and father. Instead our place is to supplement a child’s parents, to help them wherever our help is wanted and needed. Let’s use the time we have with our grandchildren to instill them with important values, to teach them about the world around them and to help shape them into better people.