Controversial Parenting

For many children who come from a looked after care status, moving around from home to home can lead to many negative issues such as low self esteem, lack of self respect, increased levels of truancy as they feel not wanted or that they don’t belong. Children in a looked after care status may be looked after by grandparents. Lack of money for pensioners may lead to little or no activities for the child and they may not be able to go out to play, have few friends or be bullied by their peers, much depends on their grandparents age and also their ability to be able to encourage and promote activities with the child.

This article discusses what is best for a child and how each situation can be is uniquely delicate. It also talks about the continuity, attachment, and emotional impact of removing a child from the care of long-term caregivers, such as grandparents.

1. Describe two types of technology your parent(s) or caregivers use to help care for or support you. How do you benefit from this? Describe how parents can learn about new technology to help with parenting.

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

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.

Individuals between the ages of 80-84 are the fastest growing segment of the population in the state of Maryland. Of the nearly 5.7 million people in Maryland in 2010, 18.6% were over the age of 60. It is expected that this percentage will increase to 25.8% of Maryland’s projected population of 6.7 million by the year 2030. With these and similar statistics in mind, it is imperative, then, that the present groundswell of intergenerational initiatives continue to rise to meet this increasing demand. To that aim, this document proposes the Adopt-a-Grandfriend Project, pairing 8th grade James Madison IB World Middle School students with residents of Collington Life Care Center’s nursing and

This case was very challenging because the purpose of National Family Caregiver’s Program is to provide a multi-faceted service delivery to assist granparents raising grandchildren and idividuals who are caring for an elderly or developmentally disabled relative. It can be tough icaring for an elderly loved one. It can mentally, pysicaaly and emotionally damage someone. 4.

These are all good questions that could each be a research paper. Some of them I feel a rhetorical in that they just don’t have an answer. Either way, they should feel the soul with anger at the thought of so much suffering that doesn’t need to happen. Most of these questions get at something that could be preventable if stopped at thought about for a moment. The question regarding corporate America influence the values of our children should make us think about parenting. Corporate America raising kids and not parents is something that is preventable in so many ways. Here is an idea, stop letting children watch so much television and go outside and play. To add to that idea, educating and inspiring parents to be parents. Not all these questions

When one thinks of grandparents, they are usually compared to as being a wiser adult who has had various positive and negative life experiences and throughout it all managed to keep their family together. The family structure has changed and more grandparents are forced into parenting for second generation children. Raising second generation children can be difficult for the grandparents who have been forced into the role of becoming a primary caregiver. Most children have a loving and trusting relationship with their grandparents, but when the roles have been forced to change the environment changes as well. With the mass amount of changes happening to the family structure, it was necessary to assist these secondary grandparents in learning how to promote and advocate in their new roles as secondary parents. With the structural changes faced by African Americans, it was appropriate to use this group because of the barriers and challenges faced and it allows for a replication with other groups. African American women can become dominant in an unfamiliar setting, so limiting the size of the group was justifiable and allowed for more interaction and engagement among participants. Using the family system theory would be necessary because this theory places an emphasis on reciprocal relationships and mutual influences between the individual components (Barker, p. 157).

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

Mic conveys the hardships of raising a grandchild when she states that she must work two jobs in order to provide food for her family because the organization she founded does not provide enough income. Mic’s worries of having to provide enough money to support her household has notably negatively affected her mental health due to the number of responsibilities that has been put on her. This is a common situation for many grandparents who look after their grandchildren as Burke reveals that many grandparents “report feeling emotionally drained, depressed, and worried about what will happen to the children if their own health fails” (Burke 435). Also, the issue of grandparents raising grandchildren relates to the generativity versus stagnation stage of psychosocial development. This is due to the fact that in this psychosocial stage “adults focus more intently on extending commitments beyond oneself and one’s life partner to a larger group--family, community or society” (Burker 423) when adults in middle adulthood become generative.

The grandparents are faced with financial challenges and limited resources causing them to feel resentment towards their new role as “parent”. Children often go undisciplined not because of a lack of caring but from the huge age differences and energy level of the grandparent(s). The grandparent(s) seclusion from friends and social events can make many of them sink into depression causing further feelings of isolation by the child. Animosity among the grandparents other kids and grandchildren can cause further rife within the family unit.

“There is no scientific basis for concluding that lesbian mothers or gay fathers are unfit parents on the basis of their sexual orientation” (Armesto, 2002; Patterson, 2000; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Ever since gay and lesbians have been parents people have questioned how the parents’ sexual orientation impacts child and adolescent development. Opponents of same-sex parents argue that sexual orientation has a negative impact on child development, while proponents argue that the relationship between the child and parents is what matters. National, state, and local governments are faced with the controversy surrounding same-sex parenting. People have very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Children and adolescents who are under lesbian or gay parents have normal child development compared with children under heterosexual parents. These children develop normally socially, mentally, and academically.

The final stage is the “family in later life”. During this stage, individuals must accept the shifting of generational roles, as they become the grandparents. They must be able to let go of some power to their offspring as they find their new place in the family system. Dealing with this change while facing potential decline in health, financial security, and loss of spouse can be stressful. Grandparenthood can be a reward substitute (Carter & McGoldrick, 1988, p. 20).

“Young people need something stable to hang on to- a cultural connection, a sense of their own past, a hope for their own future. Most of all, they need what grandparents can give them.” This quote by Jay Kesler hits the nail on the head. There is so much to learn and to glean from our grandparents. I know not everyone is lucky enough to have grandparents as they either have passed away, or maybe there just isn’t an enjoyable relationship between the grandparents and their grandkids. For those whose grandparents are still alive, I urge them to reach out, visit them and learn about history from their perspective, learn what it was like back in the 20s, 30s and 40s. If you don’t have living grandparents, go visit a nursing home! My mother has worked at nursing homes since I was a little girl and let me tell you, those who don’t have dementia, love talking about their younger years, and about how life was for them when they were kids. My favorite time of the year was summer time, not due to school being out, but for the reason that it was the time I got to spend with just my grandparents, discovering facts about our family, developing home economical skills like gardening, baking and the inevitable chores and of course going on trips.