# data[].attributes.headline
STRUGGLING TO FIT INTO THE ROLE OF GRANNY 

# data[].attributes.subject
STRUGGLING TO FIT INTO THE ROLE OF GRANNY 

# data[].attributes.body
Read this text about a woman who became granny.
Jean Winship is finding it hard to adapt to life as a grandparent— and claims she's not alone.

I am a grandma. I've been trying hard to get used to the idea ever since my daughter gave birth last year, but fourteen months on, I'm still not quite sure how I feel. It doesn't help that my daughter has started referring to me as Granny Jean. Obviously, I'm happy for my daughter and think her son, Ollie, is gorgeous, but Granny? The name just doesn't seem right. I only recently turned 50. I still have a career, big nights out and holidays in unusual countries.

I suspect that one of the reasons I'm not yet comfortable with my new status is that very little about my life matches the vague memories I have of my own grandparents. My dads parents both died before I was born and the only thing I can really remember about my other grandfather was that he often smoked a pipe. I used to love the smell of the fresh tobacco. I’d sometimes even open the tin when he wasn't there to smell it. After he died, Gran moved to a town by the seaside and we'd go and visit for a week each summer. I have fond memories of her because she'd completely spoil us, like we imagine grandmas are supposed to do. She'd take us to the circus, buy us sweets and cook us our favourite meals. She also looked like my idea of a typical granny: she was old, white-haired and wrinkly.

I can't be alone in having these mixed and complex feelings. Contrary to the common stereotype, the average age for becoming a grandparent is still only 51 in the UK and 48 in the States. However, compared with our grandparents, we're fitter and will live longer, which means we can potentially play a more active role in helping with childcare. With more women working and with the costs of childcare rising, its estimated that almost 20% of grandparents now look after grandchildren for more than ten hours a week.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, though, many say they'd prefer to do less. All of this poses a problem for women like me who fought for the freedom to get out of the home and have a career: we want our daughters to have the same freedom to work, but are reluctant to give up our own jobs in order to help them. We might provide financial support instead, but again that might mean making sacrifices, such as spending less on the leisure and travel we enjoy so much.

On top of this, my notion that the role of grandparents is to be indulgent also seems to be problematic. true that many grandparents today are often reluctant to discipline their grandchildren because it breaks the unspoken rule that grandparents should never interfere with their children parenting. Yet at the same time, itg fairly obvious that a lack of discipline can produce spoilt children who rule the house. In China, they even have a name for this phenomenon — 'Little Emperors'.

Still, while there are complications, research also suggests there'll be benefits for me in the longer relationship I'll have with my grandson. A study in Contemporary Grandparenting found that such relationships are stronger and more two- way than we perhaps realise. We typically think it's grandparents that give most, whether that be money, love or wisdom. However, research suggests that grandchildren increasingly contribute to the relationship by helping their grandparents stay up-to-date with changes in the world and 'keeping them young'. Now that’s something I'd certainly feel good about.

# data[].attributes.body
Here you can find the meanings of  some new words you found in the text

1. Granny=Grandma=Grandmother

2. vague - not clearly expressed, known, described, or decided

3. wrinkle - a small line in the skin caused by old age

# data[].attributes.body
A spoilt child who rule the house

# data[].attributes.body
Here you can find an explanation of some grammar structures you found in the text

1. "I've been trying hard to get used to the idea..." - to get used to smth (я пытаюсь привыкнуть)

2. "I used to love the smell of the fresh tobacco" - used to do smth (раньше я любила запах табака, an usual action that was in her past, but now it doesn't exist)

# data[].attributes.body
In case you find it difficult to get the family relations have a look at the map

# data[].attributes.body
Try to find out who is who in this family

# data[].attributes.body
There are some family idioms

# data[].attributes.body
Create your family tree. Write down the names of your relatives. Ask your parents about relatives you don't know to extend the tree.

# data[].attributes.body
What important family events do you know?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
родственники

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
русско-английский

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
английский язык

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Семья и родственники на английском языке (с транскрипцией)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Семья и родственники на английском языке (с транскрипцией)

# data[].attributes.body
Have a look at Anna's family

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Let's Learn English Lesson 12: Meet My Family

# data[].attributes.body
Learn Present Simple Tense watching TV series

# data[].attributes.body
In case someone ask you about your family you will be ready to tell him a lot by watching this video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Talking About Your Family in English - Spoken English Lesson

# data[].attributes.body
Expand you vocabulary by learning some of these idioms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
crown jewels

1. The precious jewels, and the regalia or which they are featured, of a monarch or sovereign, as worn or used on a state occasion. One of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century Ireland was the case of the Irish Crown Jewels, which were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never recovered.

2. slang A man's genitals, especially the testicles. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the crown jewels.

family jewels

slang Male genitalia, especially the testicles. An allusion to the testes' role in producing offspring and thus maintaining the family line. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the family jewels.

family man

A man devoted to taking care of his wife and children. Paul goes home every night after work and never likes to spend time away from his wife and kids. He's a real family man.

the black sheep of the family

One who is unlike other family members, sometimes due to intentional rebelliousness, and often viewed unfavorably by them. Everyone likes me because I'm so quiet and obedient. The same cannot be said for my wild cousin Nathan, who is the black sheep of the family.

run in the/(one's) family

To be a hereditary trait or a characteristic frequently exhibited by members of a family. I wonder if she's pregnant with twins-they do run in our family, you know. Cassie's drawing will probably win the contest-artistic ability just runs in her family.

in a/the family way

euphemism Pregnant. Did you hear the good news? Kristin is in the family way!

one big happy family

A group of people who live or work together or in close proximity, with the happy characteristics of a family. Sometimes used ironically to indicate that things do not go smoothly when they are together. I lived in a house during college with five other people. We shared every part our lives with one another, like one big happy family. Three departments that don't communicate properly and blame each other for their own mistakes-yeah, we're one big happy family.

sell the family silver

To sell or part with a very valuable resource for a quick and immediate gain or advantage, rather than holding onto it for future use or to accrue even greater value. Unfortunately, the government sold the family silver during the economic crash, auctioning off some of the most valuable land in the country to private investors to help meet its debt obligations. To avoid bankruptcy, the company had to offload some of its most valuable intellectual property, but many investors worry they may have doomed themselves in the long run by selling the family silver.

run in the blood

To be innate, as of a skill or quality. All of my relatives are doctors-medical prowess just runs in the blood. That type of passion can't be taught-it has to run in the blood.

start a family

To begin having children. I just think you need a more stable job if we're going to start a family. Why does everyone as when we'll start a family now that we're married? Not every married couple wants kids!

(all) in the family

restricted to one's own family, as with private or embarrassing information. Don't tell anyone else. Please keep it all in the family. He only told his brother because he wanted it to remain in the family.

black sheep of the family

Fig. the worst member of the family. Mary is the black sheep of the family. She's always in trouble with the police. He keeps making a nuisance of himself. What do you expect from the black sheep of the family?

family that prays together stays together

Prov. Families who practice religion together will not break apart through divorce or estrangement. Mother believed that the family that prays together stays together and insisted that we all say prayers every night.

How's the family?
and How's your family?

an expression used on greeting to ask about the state of the person's immediate family. Bob: Hello, Fred. How are you? Fred: Fine, thanks. Bob: How's the family? Fred: Great! How's yours? Bob: Couldn't bebetter. "How's the family?" asked Bill, greeting his boss.

*in a family way
and *in the family way

Fig. pregnant. (*Typically: be ~; get someone ~.) I've heard that Mrs. Smith is in a family way. Our dog is in the family way.

like one of the family

as if someone (or a pet) were a member of one's family. We treat our dog like one of the family. We are very happy to have you stay with us, Bill. I hope you don't mind if we treat you like one of the family.

run in the family

[for a characteristic] to appear in many (or all) members of a family. My grandparents lived well into their nineties, and it runs in the family. My brothers and I have red hair. It runs in the family.

crown jewels

1. A prized possession or asset, as in The Iliad and Odyssey are the crown jewels of ancient literature, or The software products are the company's crown jewels. This usage transfers the value of royal jewels to some other object. [Late 1800s]

2. Also, family jewels. The male genitals, especially the testicles. For example, She gave the would-be mugger a hard kick in the family jewels. A slang euphemism, the term dates from the 1970s, and the variant from the early 1900s.

in the family way

Pregnant, as in Mary's in the family way again. This euphemistic expression dates from the late 1700s and may be dying out.

run in the blood

Also, run in the family. Be characteristic of a family or passed on from one generation to the next, as in That happy-go-lucky trait runs in the blood, or Big ears run in the family. The first term dates from the early 1600s, the second from the late 1700s.

sell the family silver

If you accuse someone of selling the family silver, you mean that they are getting rid of something valuable in order to get a quick advantage when it would be better to keep it for an advantage in the future. He accused the government of selling the family silver by allowing foreign investors to purchase the buildings. As Maureen Freely says, from bitter experience: `Writing about these things is like selling the family silver. You can only do it once.'

the black sheep
or
the black sheep of the family

COMMON If you describe someone as the black sheep or the black sheep of the family, you mean that the other people in their family disapprove of them and consider their behaviour to be bad. `I was always the black sheep,' he says. `Everyone else stayed in New Jersey but I was the one to go.' My uncle was the black sheep of the family and we were never encouraged to talk about him. Note: Black sheep are less valuable than white sheep since their wool cannot be dyed. In addition, people used to associate the colour black with evil.

the black sheep
a person considered to have brought discredit upon a family or other group; a bad character.
the (or your) family jewels
a man's genitals. informal
in the family way
pregnant. informal
sell the family silver
part with a valuable resource in order to gain an immediate advantage.

In 1985 , the former British prime minister Harold Macmillan made a speech to the Tory Reform Group on the subject of privatization (the selling off of nationalized industries to private companies). He likened it to the selling of heirlooms by impoverished aristocratic families: 'First of all the Georgian silver goes...'.

one ˌbig ˌhappy ˈfamily
( informal) a group of people who live or work together happily and without disagreements: We were always together. We were like one big happy family. ♢ (ironic) 'Is your office a happy place to work in?' 'Oh sure, we're just one big happy family. Everybody hates everybody else.'
in the ˈfamily way
( old-fashioned, informal) pregnant
run in the ˈfamily
(of a physical characteristic or moral quality) be something that many members of a family have: He was never going to live long because heart disease runs in both families. ♢ Good looks run in the family.

family jewels

n. the testicles. (Jocular and euphemistic. They are necessary to produce a family.) Hey, careful of the family jewels!

in a family way
and in the family way

mod. pregnant. I hear that Britney is in a family way.

in the family way
verb

in the family way

start a family

To conceive or have a first child.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1. The precious jewels, and the regalia or which they are featured, of a monarch or sovereign, as worn or used on a state occasion. One of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century Ireland was the case of the Irish Crown Jewels, which were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never recovered.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

# data[].attributes.body
Work with the cards to learn new words and check your knowledge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
FAMILY IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS Flashcards | Quizlet

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Start studying FAMILY IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

# data[].attributes.body
Learn how to pronounce family words with Rachel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ENGLISH VOCABULARY - Family Vocabulary!  This Vocabulary Builder teaches you all about family