The Trend of Grandfamilies: Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren

By Darlene Oakley HERWriter

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When Grandparents are Primary Caregivers

Grandparents often look forward to those years when the main parental responsibilities are no longer theirs and they can just sit back and enjoy their grandchildren. In the last 30 years, there has been an startlingly increasing trend of grandparents taking on the role of primary caregiver for their grandchildren.

This can happen for a variety of reasons: illness, death, incarceration, drug use/abuse or neglect on the part of the parents.

New Census Information on Grandfamilies

According to 2010 data from the U.S. Census Bureau published by the AARP:

• “4.9 million children (7 percent) under age 18 live in grandparent-headed households. That’s up from 4.5 million living in grandparent-headed households 10 years ago ...”

• “Approximately 20 percent of these children (964,579) have neither parent present and the grandparents are responsible for their basic needs. This is a decrease from 2000, when approximately one-third lived without parents ...”

• “51 percent of grandparents who have grandkids living with them are white (up from 46 percent in 2000); 24 percent are Black/African American (down from 28 percent in 2000); and 19 percent are Hispanic/Latino (down slightly from 20 percent in 2000) ... For grandparents reporting responsibility for grandchildren 67 percent are under age 60, which is down from 71 percent in 2000. And 20 percent live in poverty; up from 18.8 percent in 2000.”

Challenges of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Grandparents who take on the parental responsibilities of their grandchildren face unique challenges. They’re raising children where there is increased awareness and occurrences of learning disabilities and parenting styles and educational practices and technologies than when they were raising their children.

They have a whole lot to learn.

As well, the financial hardships that have struck many families in the last 10 years also affect grandparents as they’re nearing retirement or are already retired.

They probably had not included the extra finances of being a primary caregiver to a child in their retirement financials. And they probably have just as much difficulty finding a job as the general population, perhaps even more so as employers shy away from hiring “older” or “mature” workers.

Grandparents may experience emotional or behavioral issues with the grandchildren as a reaction to the change in the living situation.

There may also be legal issues that grandparents need to conquer to be able to make decisions for the child, which are unique to the grandparent/grandchild relationship.

Now, even more than before, many grandparents are rising to these challenges and taking an integral role in their grandchildren’s lives.

Sources:

1. More Grandparents Raising Grandkids. Goyer, Amy. AARP. Web. Nov 18, 2013.
http://www.aarp.org/relationships/grandparenting/info-12-2010/more_grandparents_raising_grandchildren.html

2. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Goyer, Amy. AARP. Web. Nov 18, 2013.
http://www.aarp.org/relationships/friends-family/info-08-2011/grandfamilies-guide-getting-started.2.html

Reviewed November 19, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.