John Zammit says the love you have for your grandchildren is so different to the love you have for your own children. He speaks to Veronica Stivala about being a grandad.
“It is amazing to be a grandparent,” says John Zammit. “The love you have for your grandchildren is so different to the love you have for your own children.”
John, grandfather to Thomas, 5, Sophie, 5, and Jeremy, 10 months, goes on to explain how being a grandfather has given him a second chance at parenthood, especially since he has more time for his grandchildren than he did for his own children, as when he was younger he had more work at the time.
As everyone knows, grandparents get to be more lenient with grandchildren, and John admits he and his wife Marisa do let the children get away with a lot of things, but they are very careful to stop them doing anything wrong.
“That’s the most difficult part for grandparents,” confides John, “to correct them, even though you still love them and to try to make them realise that you love them, even though you don’t let them do certain things.” The grandparents make it a point to explain to the young ones why they are correcting them.
John has a very strong relationship with his grandchildren, whom he sees regularly. He frequently picks Thomas up from school and the grandchildren are often home or the grandparents go over to babysit and put the kids to bed.
The most difficult part for grandparents is to correct grandchildren
Looking back at the birth of his first grandchild, Thomas, John remembers his emotional reaction, of course, since this was his first experience as a grandad. “I’m very emotional,” he admits, “and it was a very joyous occasion.”
“I remember seeing Becky (the children’s mother) in hospital with Thomas in her arms. She called me nannu and I got a shock. Even though I was 58 at the time, I still didn’t feel like a nannu,” he says.
Of course, he adds, it was just as momentous when Sophie and Jeremy were born, but it wasn’t such a shock as the first time. John speaks incredibly fondly of his three grandchildren, explaining in detail their characters and the dynamic between the children themselves, their parents and both sets of grandparents.
“Thomas is a lively and active boy. He’s also very caring, and knows what’s going on all the time, even when he’s playing,” he says. “Jeremy looks up to him, although his sister pesters him a lot. Thomas loves his younger siblings and even though his brother is still young, he plays with him a lot; they roll on the floor and jump on each other quite a bit.”
John jokes how even though he is only five years old, Thomas already knows more than him about computers (to a certain degree!). Thomas loves computer games and John sits down to play with him, often to be told, “nannu, do as I tell you”.
The fact that Thomas is so caring and loving frequently comes up in our conversation. Thomas sometimes cuddles up to his nannu, and tells John, “nannu, I love you”. John and Thomas also pray together, often prompted by Thomas who asks his grandad to pray with him.
Little Sophie is very intelligent, and although just three years old, is already set in her ways and quite tough. “Being the middle child, especially between two boys, makes her fight for her rights,” says John, “and she manages.”
She always wins me over, confides John when he thinks further about his pretty golden-locked granddaughter who he has nicknamed Princess Sophia.
“Sometimes, when Thomas is on the computer and she wants her turn to play nursery rhymes, she looks me in the eyes and says, ‘nannu, for me please’. How can I say no to that?” muses John. So together they go on to listen and sing the nursery rhymes, Sophie doing most of the singing. Her favourite song is Old MacDonald.
The grandparents also find it highly amusing and entertaining when their granddaughter attempts to speak in Maltese. Although their father makes it a point to speak to his children in Maltese, Sophie has made up her own version of the language, complete with gestures and a determined tone showing she’s trying to tell them something.
“We can’t understand a word,” jokes John, “but we answer her in Maltese and she seems to understand.”
Baby Jeremy is of course still too young to converse in any language, but this is not to say he doesn’t try. He does communicate with you and blabs a lot, says John of his “always smiling, very quiet, gentle and calm” grandson. When he comes home, my wife sometimes asks: “Where’s nannu?” He looks around for me, says John, lovingly.
And with a grandad as sweet as that, who wouldn’t?