Dr. Lillian Carson is a nationally renowned authority on child development, parenting and grandparenting.

She is the author of “The Essential Grandparent,” and a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, Calif.

Her Q&A column “Ask Grand” appears in Grand Magazine.

She talked to Growing Bolder about some of the common mistakes grandparents make and how you can be a better grandparent to your family.