Are your grandchildren interested in you as a person?

Now GS1 is 11 he finds me quite interesting because I know a lot about things he is interested in. He's doing WW2 at school so I've been sorting out various bits and pieces from his great grandparents' wartime experiences. It shows how we never talk to our families, I knew my FiL had been a POW but hadn't realised he'd been in prisons in Italy, Sebastapol, and Germany. No chance of finding out any details now!

My GS now aged 9 is very interested in my life. He often asks me to tell him stories of when I was a child, but one night when I had read the bedtime story, kissed him night night and told him I love him, he said, Yes, grandma, but who loves you? My ex left before he was born and he just knows that I live alone now. He had clearly thought about that and it was worrying him that don't appear to have anyone close.

I'll have to ask them, because I'm not sure, really. They've rarely had a chance to see me as a person in my own right.. hmmm

No; I try to hang on to things that my grandchildren might find interesting (rag rug makers/flat irons/box cameras etc) but they're not interested. Then again, my children aren't interested in anything about my life either. But, I was the same when I was young.

No, not at all. They aren't even interested in the genetic aspect of the relationship. Their loss.

Mine are only 5, 5 and 3 . Certainty the older two are interested about “the olden day’s”. My DGD was horrified to hear about the kind of school dinners we had and that there was no choice. I explained rationing to her, and how we had very little in the way of biscuits and sweets. She seemed very upset about the hard life I had! Also that I had to be careful not to drop my doll because she’d probanly break. When I was allowed to join the library aged 7 I then had books, which was wonderful. She is fascinated about my childhood because it’s so different from hers. The DGS is less interested although he does wonder how I managed without CBeebies! Our first TV was when I was in my teens, and it only had BBC. (What would now be BBC1). I explained that my brother and I were glued to the wireless and never missed Childrens’ Hour. He said it must have been sad for me not to have his lovely colllection of dinosaurs. Oh and was I allowed an iPad to make up for not having a television?!

My DGC (all under 10) become interested and sometimes shocked when I make a comment about my past for example when I told DGS I used to go rock climbing, or that I had to take my mother's place and do all the cooking, housework, washing, ironing as well as go to school when my mother was in hospital having one of my sisters. I was then aged 10! This was repeated twice in the next 6 years when my next brother and sister were born.

I used to be a peripatetic Special Needs teacher and my DGC now go to two of the schools I worked in. I actually trained many of the Teaching Assistants and they are continually amazed that they (and the teachers) know me and come for a chat when I pick the children up. My DGS's teacher now is the son of one of them and I've known about him since he was a little boy! When they have inter schools sporting events I also meet up with staff from other schools and my DGD once commented, 'Do you know all the teachers in (this town) Grandma?'

GC are aware of the job I used to do but have not much concept of when things were invented. I told GD1 we did not have TV when I was a child and she asked me if I watched the programmes on the computer

Of course not! Children are rarely ‘interested’ in such things. Indeed I wish I’d been more interested in my parents and grandparents backgrounds as I’ve missed s much family history and anecdotes.

It’s normally only as you get older that you become more curious.

Our 17 year old granddaughter seems interested in our lives. She loves nothing better than going through our old photos. She is gorgeous and clever and has lots of friends but she is very interested in her family and its history.

It seems to be a tradition in our family to have children very late.

I didn't know much about my grandparents and wouldn't have dared ask them things. My grandfathers were both long dead when I was born and my grandmothers were well over 80 by the time I was old enough to even think about talking to them.

My children had great respect for their grandfather (my father), and are very fond of my mother. Their paternal grandparents both died when they were all tiny, so they don't know much about them - come to think of it, nor do I.

My own grandchildren are far too young to consider me any more than a playmate so far, but I will do my best to cultivate a two-way relationship with them where possible.