Approximately 5.5 million grandchildren are being raised by their grandparents or some other relative in today's society. Grandparents step in and hope this is a temporary situation but it often becomes a permanent situation. Their world is suddenly turned upside down. Many grandparents are in that stage in their lives where they are already retired or ready to retire. They want to start to enjoy life by doing what they want when they want. They don't want to be tied down. Suddenly they are not only grandparents but parents. And they face many challenges.
Some of the challenges they find themselves facing are psychological, health, financial, and social isolation.
Psychological challenges could affect both the grandparents and the children. The children could feel rejected, unloved, unwanted, confused, and could act out in school and at home. Grandparents could feel depressed, develop health problems and financial problems. Seek professional help if necessary.
Grandparents can exprience health problems such as depression, hypertension, fatigue and insomnia due to the demanding role of caregiver. Depending on the age of the grandchild(ren), grandparents may have to be up nights dealing with nightmares, they have to play with them, chase after them, etc.
Grandparents also find themselves having to go by a schedule again. Children need a certain bedtime, certain bath time, meal times, after school activities, and suddenly there is no time for grandma or grandpa to go out with their friends, go to bingo, or whatever they want to do. They begin to suffer from social isolation.
The financial challenge is the biggest challenge of all. If the grandparents are retired or about to retire, all they might have to live on is their social security check so they may have to take on a part time job, or if they are still working full time, they either have to cut back on their hours, quit and become a full time "mom" or find child care, which is another expense. Please check with your local welfare office to see what programs they have to help you with financial challenges.
Another challenge is housing. If the grandparents are living in a small apartment, or a retirement home, taking on raising a grandchild(ren) may mean moving.
Raising grandchildren is a big responsibility and comes with a lot of challenges but it also comes with a hugh dose of love. Working together can help overcome a lot of these challenges.
I know from experience that my husband and I were not wanting to become "parents" again but each day our grandson is with us we love it. He is the sunshine of our lives and we would not give up being "parents". We take the challenges one at a time and work thru them
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