TODAY’s Al Roker has now survived the newborn phase … of being a grandfather.
Al’s first granddaughter, Sky Clara Laga, just celebrated her first birthday on July 3. “Pop-Pop” couldn’t be more excited to share so many moments with his new granddaughter and her parents, his daughter Courtney Roker Laga and son-in-law Wes.
In an interview with TODAY.com, Al shares the reason why he loves being a grandfather: You get all of the excitement of being a parent with very little of the anxiety.
“Especially when you’re a first-time parent, you are so immersed in making sure your kid’s OK. It is all-consuming,” says Al. “And while from time to time you can appreciate the joy and the faith, you’re just so concerned and worried about this little person that you’re responsible for.
“By the time you become a grandparent, you already know what it takes to raise a child. And since it’s not your primary responsibility, you can really just bask in the joy of everything they do because you don’t have to worry about all the other stuff.”
To illustrate this point, Al shares the excitement of watching Sky learn to crawl. “This past weekend she started crawling at our house and it’s like, ‘Oh, this is fantastic!'” he says.
As a proud grandfather, “I don’t have to think about the fact that, now I’ve gotta really watch this kid. I mean, I do, but it’s not my 24-hour job,” he says.
Although Al now realizes, “I’m gonna have to start baby proofing,” he says he’s mostly “just reliving the joy of discovery of your child, only it’s once removed. So that now it really is just pure joy.”
He says he’s learned that as a grandparent, you have to know when to step back and let your children find their own groove as parents.
“Look, our kids have to find their path,” he explains. “Everybody’s parental style is different. So, you kind of let them find their way. You can gently suggest things and your kids can take that and use it or not. And once you’ve given that advice, you have to let it go, because they have to find their way.”
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Both Al and his wife, Deborah Roberts, are trying to help … but not critique. The longtime couple share three children: Courtney, Leila and Nicholas. Their youngest, Nick, is in college.
So far, things seem to be working out well.
“I’m very proud of my daughter and my son-in-law,” Al says. “They’re terrific parents and they’ve raised this, so far, incredibly happy baby who’s just very content, and very adventurous when it comes to food and just has a very, very lovely, happy disposition. So it’s like, ‘Well, whatever you’re doing, you’re doing a great job. I know it feels like it’s this all-consuming gig because in fact it is. But you’re doing a great job.'”
Al uses a familiar phrase to describe measuring success as a parent: “You know, there’s that old saying, you’re only as happy as your least happy child … and that probably goes for your grandchildren as well.”
If Sky’s happiness is the measure of success, Al’s daughter and her husband are already surpassing expectations.
“I’ve seen a lot of babies. I’ve had my own babies. And I’ve just never seen a kid this happy,” says Pop-Pop Al.
