How Grandparents are Stepping in to the Role of Parent

Today there are a rising number of grandparents who are providing care for their grandchildren as if they were second parents. With more mothers going in to the work force, presented with greater opportunities, grandparents come to be the reliable source of childcare for their grandchildren. There are three types of grandparent-grandchild relationships prevalent today: Custodial, Live in grandchildren, and Day-Care grandparents. Today "5-10% of children under the age of 18 are residing with their grandparents."(Dellmann-Jenkins, 2002)* Which is an astronomical number.

Custodial grandparents have sole custody of their grandchildren, it is a relationship established by law. They are the primary care giver for that child, and are responsible for that child's development and wellbeing. "Custodial grandparents try to provide a stable environment for their grandchildren, sometimes when their own children were drug- and alcohol addicted." (DeGenova & Rice, 2002). This statement shows how custodial grandparents feel obligated to provide a safe environment for their grandchildren, in place of the abusive and dangerous on that they may have had with their biological parents.

The next type of grandparent-grandchild relationship is one in which they child and the grandparent are not legally bonded together but they still reside in the same home. The grandparent is still a primary care giver, but they in no way have custody over the child or legal guardianship. Children who are cared for by their grandparents were often in danger of their biological parents returning to get them at any given time, in which "…They would have no way of protecting the child from an unsuitable or even dangerous parent." (DeGenova & Rice, 2002).

The third type of grandparent-grandchild care relationship is one in which the child neither lives with, nor is in custody of the grandparent who is providing care for them. This relationship is one of the most common relationships today, and it involves the parent leaving the child with the grandparent during the hours of the work day in place of professional day-care, which can often be too expensive for a family in today's society. Grandparents who provide day-care for their grandchildren "…were least affected by their care giving because the children went home at the end of the day." (DrGenova & Rice, 2002).

Care giving provides many advantages for the grandparent as well as the grandchild. Many grandparents can fell as if they have a purpose in their later life if they are responsible for helping to raise a child. It makes them feel younger and helpful in their children's everyday life.

In my family my grandmother takes on the responsibility of providing day-care for all of her grandchildren. She had five kids, so there are 12 grandchildren, but we are spread out in age. She would take us when our parents would leave for work in the morning until they came home at the end of the work day. She would watch movies with us, and try to play educational game with us, and I think that this really helped us because we were given individual attention and care as opposed to being in a preschool that was filled with children. I know that I admire my grandmother because she was always busy helping out my parents, and she is not old, when I was little she was only in her 40's. She had my mother when she was 16 years old. So she has always been like a second parent to me.

Overall, grandparents today are taking on more of a parent-like responsibility with their grandchildren. They are providing care for their children that can not be received either by their parents or by a preschool. They are feeling as if they have a purpose even though they are in their "golden years." This makes the grandparent-grandchild care system one of benefit on both ends, providing something for each party, helping to better the lives of both grandparents and their grandchildren.

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