Research has not investigated ways in which grandparents indirectly influence grandchildren through interactions with the parents. This study was conducted to investigate factors affecting mothers' willingness to accept suggestions from their own mothers about disciplining their child. The study also examined whether mothers' disciplinary actions influenced subsequent advice from the grandmothers. Subjects were 40 mothers of 9-year-old children and their own mothers (maternal grandmothers). Mothers and grandmothers were told that they would be helping their child learn puzzle tasks. Mothers gave or removed candies for successes or errors, and grandmothers independently advised mothers about this disciplining. Via computer screens, grandmothers' suggestions were displayed to mothers and mothers' disciplinary decisions were shown to grandmothers; however, all information provided was sham. Siginficant effects revealed that mothers receiving grandmothers' advice to increase punishing did so gradually over trials. Mothers receiving initially punitive advice that abated immediately raised their punitiveness and maintained these high levels. Mothers' rewarding patterns paralleled their punishing. Grandmothers' actual suggestions regarding reward and punishment were comparably influenced by the timing and feedback received about the mothers' punishing. Mothers and grandmothers responded faster when advice or feedback was intensely punitive. When grandmothers were highly responsible for the child, mothers were more likely to conform to the grandmothers' advice. (NB)