Grandparents raising grandchildren
Grandparents raising grandchildren is a growing phenomenon in the 21st century, where many grandparents take on the primary caregiver role for their grandchildren due to various factors. These include increased life expectancy, rising rates of divorce, long-term unemployment of parents, military deployments, and issues such as substance abuse or incarceration that prevent parents from providing care. This situation often arises unexpectedly for grandparents, who may face unique challenges, such as poor health or financial constraints, affecting their ability to raise children.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, approximately 2.7 million grandparents reported having primary responsibility for a grandchild under eighteen, with women more likely to assume this role than men. While many grandparent caregivers have higher incomes and better employment stability than those without custodial responsibilities, the role can still be physically and emotionally taxing. Grandparents may encounter difficulties with legal guardianship, enrolling grandchildren in school, and accessing healthcare services.
Despite available support programs, many grandparents may be unaware of the resources at their disposal. Additionally, some may wish to pursue legal adoption but face the emotional complexities associated with terminating parental rights. This situation highlights a complex and evolving family dynamic that merits understanding and support.
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Grandparents raising grandchildren
Although the phenomenon of grandparents helping to care for their grandchildren is not new, increasing numbers of grandparents in the twenty-first century serve as the primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Factors contributing to this phenomenon include increased life expectancy, higher rates of divorce among parents of young children, increased long-term parental unemployment, military deployment, and disruptive factors such as drug use or incarceration that render parents incapable of caring for their children. Often, the need to assume the role of primary caregiver comes as a surprise to the grandparents, who may be in poor health or living on a fixed income, both of which add to the challenges of raising grandchildren.
Overview
The 2000 US Census was the first that included information about grandparents caring for grandchildren. Information about grandparent caregivers was also collected for the 2010 Census, which reported that 7.0 million grandparents in the United States were living with grandchildren under the age of eighteen. Of those, 2.7 million said they had primary responsibility for at least one grandchild younger than eighteen, with women (1.7 million) being more likely than men (1.0 million) to report assuming that responsibility. About 10 percent (7.5 million) of US children were living with at least one grandparent, and about 5.4 million children lived with a grandparent householder. 3.2 million children lived with both a grandmother and grandfather.
On average, the 2010 Census found that grandparents with primary responsibility for at least one grandchild younger than eighteen were more likely to be employed, to live in their own homes, and to have higher incomes than grandparents without that responsibility. The median household income for households headed by a grandparent was $45,000, but just $33,000 for families without either of the grandchild's parents present. Most grandparent caregivers (2.2 million) had incomes above the poverty level, as compared to about 0.5 million were living at or below the poverty level. About 1.7 million of all grandparents caring for grandchildren were members of the labor force, and 1.9 million owned their own homes while 840,000 were renters. 390,000 grandparents raising grandchildren reported that they spoke a language other than English and were less than fluent in English.
Although most grandparents willingly take on the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren, the relationship may also pose unexpected challenges. There may be various difficulties related to gaining guardianship, school enrollment, and access to proper children's medical care. Due to age and/or pre-existing health conditions, some grandparents find caring for grandchildren to be physically taxing and may be unable to meet this challenge on a long-term basis. Grandparents may find a second round of child-rearing to be mentally and emotionally taxing, particularly if they thought that the childrearing phase of their life was behind them. Because they may have been out of school for many years, the grandparents may be unaware of changes in the classroom environment and may have difficulty assisting grandchildren with their homework.
There are many state, federal, and local programs intended to assist grandparents raising grandchildren, but grandparents may not be aware of them and/or may be inexperienced in dealing with government bureaucracies. Finally, grandparents serving as primary caregivers may wish to legally adopt their grandchildren, but cannot do so without termination of the parents’ rights, and seeking that termination may strain relationships with both the children and the grandchildren.
Bibliography
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