Pros And Cons Of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

It is a known fact that people are living longer today and with older age comes many obstacles for which the elderly overcome. Such obstacles as; physical changes, mental changes, changes in income, friends, family, and at times their way of life. As the baby boomers are getting older, some find that their social life has declined because most of their friends have died. Moreover, some of the boomers are maintaining their lifestyles as though nothing has changed, while others are in the midst of significant changes in their lifestyles and their way of life. The purpose of this discussion board is to compare and contrast two social theories about aging and how it relates to the role of the caregiver. Furthermore, I will discuss the one new

In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.

Adult children caring for their aging parent or grandparent provide the majority of informal support. This is due in part because grandmothers “raise their grandchildren to believe in lifetime reciprocity”, grandchildren often feel an obligation to care for their aging family members (Novak, 2012, p.191). Furthermore, a heavy reliance on family support may be due to a lack of trust exists towards formal health care programs, a lack of access, or a general lack of

In many cultures, the greatest joy of a person comes through the realization that they will soon be called a grandparent. Speaking from a personal perspective, the Latino culture sees the arrival of a grandchild, for the most part, through a set of different beliefs. The first belief associated with the role of being a grandparent, is the idea that one’s offspring has embarked on “full adulthood”, and that now, they will understand what true responsibility is all about. Another common belief among the Latino population when it comes to grand parenting, is that being a grandparent correlates with being a parent all over again; given that many Latinos see this particular role, as one in which they must play an active role for the wellbeing of

Multiple studies have reported grandparents adopted the responsibility of caring for children, especially in cases of maternal incarceration (Burnette, 1999; Dressel and Barnhill, 1990; Fuller-Thompson, Minkler, and Driver, 1997). Morgan et al (2014) report that 'becoming a custodial grandparent constitutes a major, unexpected role transition in the life course of older adults'. This role can be physically, emotional and financially demanding on grandparents and has been reported to increase the risk of depression and multiple chronic health problems (Burton, 1992; Minkler and Roe, 1993; Poehlmann, 2003). Grandparents may also experience the same guilt and stigma associated with having a loved one in prison (Dressel and Barnhill, 1994; Minkler, 1999; Pinson-Millburn et al., 1996). Turanovic, Rodriguez and Pratt (2012) report that often grandparents can feel as though they are to blame for not providing good enough parenting to their own child, thus, feel a duty to support their grandchildren. Additionally, as this childcare is most likely to take place on an 'informal basis', Grandparents are less likely to receive childcare benefits or support (Beltran, 2001, Hayslip and Kaminski, 2005). With this said, at lot of the samples discussed originate from the USA and may not be generalisable to a UK population. It may be interesting to explore if this grandparent caring responsibility is consistent among a UK sample. As financial hardship seems to be a reoccurring theme within the literature this research shall also include a professional from the welfare sector to explore the sources of support for prisoner's families within this

Growing up with your grandparents has its benefits. I remember waking up to freshly baked biscuits and fried sliced ham on Saturday mornings just before cartoons. Riding to the pharmacy with my grandfather to pick up his medicine was one of my favorite trips. We would always stop for ice cream before we returned home. Soaking in the knowledge that streamed from the lips of your elders can go unappreciated until you are an adult. Watching people age gives you an understanding of what is important to seniors as they transition to retirement and lonIg-term care. Seniors value the ability to live and enjoy a life that includes independence, family, and home. In today's economy, there is a shortage of health care professionals. Home healthcare services are vital due to the aging US population and need for increased continuum of care.

Carole B. Cox explains the importance of focus to the needs and concerns of these grandparents that are increasingly growing and becoming more known and the lack of services that address this group’s unique strengths and abilities to cope with any and all problems that they may face while caring for their grandchildren such as: their own physical health, increase of depression and insomnia, economic costs, low incomes, discrimination already present due to history, communication within the family, behavioral problems, and legal and entitlement issues. A study was conducted to see if a program that focused on providing these grandparents with a way to become more empowered in their role as custodial parents in strengthening their parenting skills,

A brief view of the 4 decades within the periods of 1950 to 1990 would show us a significant shift from the conventional nuclear family to the non-conventional modern family. Starting from the 1950s, the families were nuclear, where members worked together, understood their roles, and did what was expected of them; by the 1960s, there were a few sitcoms that began to undermine the television parent’s authority by privileging the independence of nearly adult or adult children; by the 1970s, the authoritative father began to disappear as they were no longer

According to Lisa Zeleznikow and John Zeleznikow (2015), over 40% of adults in the United States have at least one step-relative living with them. This style of family unit is not a new phenomenon, as even in biblical times the accounts of Abraham and Jacob illustrate the realities of the

Growing up, parents and grandparents want what is best for their children and grandchildren. I

Culturally is it unusual that Lanesha’s grandmother is her primary caregiver? I would like to say no to this question, but the facts behind this issue don’t support it. Within the African American community, approximately 12% of African American children nationally are cared for by their grandparents, compared to approximately 7% of Hispanic children and 4% of non-Hispanic White children (NCBI, 2010). Lanesha and her grandmother are part of a larger issue that is reflected in today’s society. Several reasons can exist for this paradigm, anything from the parents needing complete education, the grandparents supplementing expensive daycare costs, or simply because the parents are not involved in the child’s life.

The belief that the family structure and parenting practices have morally declined can be traced back to the early 1940’s in America. In an interview with C. Moran, LCSW-C (personal communication, April 8, 2004), she described a time where families lived very close to, if not on the same street as their extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents would all participate in the raising of the children, “it takes a village to raise a child” (C Moran, April 8, 2004). In some cases, the grandparents would teach the parents how to parent. As time moved on into the “freeness” of the 1960’s and 1970’s, parenting became more passive. Children at a young age were allowed to make decisions that ten years ago would have been made by their parents. The belief was to allow the child to make their own mistakes and they would receive the repercussions from society. As a result, more freedom of choice would be given to the child. Now, with the children of the sixties and seventies having offspring of their own, the “millennial generation”, and extended families spread out globally, active and involved parenting is becoming a thing of the past.

The purpose of this project is to explore the bidirectionality of parenting style within a family and how it affects parent-child interactions through a case study of a mother of three using an interview. Furthermore, this project considers how changes in family structure and personal experience influence child-rearing practices.

My grandparents were the matriarchs of the family.We perceived them at a higher standard than of my parents. Their unannounced titles are automatic because they are elders in our family. But only used their titles or status when they disagreed with my parents. I normalized the fact that my  first cousins lived with us. Though it is not a part of the nuclear family, the advantages seem to be more helpful. In other cultures the more children that are available means there are more hands to help around the house. Mostly everyone would have a job or task to complete. These tasks would make the living conditions easy because everyone contributed. Compared to the typical family,  it may discouraged because it can be seen that the children are used as servants. I I never viewed that the work I contributed in my family was being exploited in anyway. It was just a way of life. Meyerhoff says it perfect in his article “For children, this provides an enlarged number of significant adults and playmates” (Meyerhoff). I truly think it made me independent as I become older.

Families recognise that each person is an autonomous individual and adult children need to be encourage to pursue independent lives. Grandchildren are added and extended family grows, with on-going contact that does not interfere with the new nuclear family, which now work towards developing own boundary. Parents have to realise that adult children no longer need their guidance and economic assistance