Issues of grandparents raising grandchildren Essay

Abstract This paper explores research regarding the impacts on grandp bents and grandchildren when the grandp atomic number 18nt assumes the parental fictitious character because of some attribute of parental fall through. The articles hear that the monetary aspect of lift grandchildren in your later years is instead costly as well is the negative wellness problems the stress of the situation can cause. This paper mainly looks at Baldocks (2007) research on the affects of every aspect of the innovative situation on the grandparents and grandchildren. Baldock (2007) and the other research used for this paper all suggest that there are multiple struggles that the grandparents result carry when raising their grandchildren.Issues of Grandparents Raising GrandchildrenThe clich life of a grandparent is comm moreover thought of as taking the grandchildren to the zoo, baking cookies, and making crafts. Grandparents are also around to share their wisdom and experiences with the yo unger generation, however in todays society the amount of grandparents having to assimilate in their grandchildren due to an issue in the biological parents lives has been on the increase for years (Baldock, 2007, p. 70).This change of role for the grandparents can eng historic period various affects on non only the grandparents but the grandchildren as well. There are legion(predicate) reasons as to why grandparents come into the situation where they need to take their grandchildren into their wish such as teen mature pregnancy, parental abuse, and parental drug and alcohol abuse. No matter how the grandparents come into obtaining their grandchildren each family have their own types of struggles they will have to deal with. Both the grandparents and grandchildren can go through multiple financial, health, and behavioral issues that can either bring the family out on top or hurt them, but many are choosing to overcome the difficulties and persevere through them. Literature Rev iewThere are many troubles in todays society with drugs, alcohol, and violence, all which are just a few of the reasons that many parents obtain unable to properly care for their children.These and many other circumstances are which have led to approximately 2.4 million grandparents world responsible for raising their grandchildren, many in households without the parents present. (Poehlmann et al., 2008, 165) The decision to undertake the office of raising your grandchildren is a big nonpareil to run into, however many times there is no decision to make because the children would end up in the foster care system if it werent for the grandparents. In a study completed in Australia about grandparent run homes, of the 31,000 children living with their grandparents, 28,700 childrens biological parents lived elsewhere. (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) This can make the melodic line of raising your grandchild even much difficult because of the emotional and financial hindrances it may cause . Health Quality of Custodial GrandparentsThere have been various studies in which they have found that grandparents who take care of their grandchildren have mental and physical aspects of themselves that are in a disarray (Neely-Barnes, Graft, & Washington, 2010, p. 87). The role of being a tutelar grandparent is difficult not only because it is a new situation which they need to adjust to, but it can also cause physical and mental problems.The situation cause a lot of new emotions and stressors that numerous studies have documented elevated rates of depression, parenting stress, health problem, and economic laboredship among custodial grandparents. (Poehlmann et al., 2008, p. 168) Many grandparents are well in their sixtys and so when the children arrive, grandparents are unlikely to be prepared for the dramatic and often sudden changes caused by unplanned parenthood. (Baldock, 2007, p. 73) The grandparents generally see an increase in health related problems because they are pu t into a situation where they need to focus on the care of their grandchildren which leads to the grandparents health and well-being coming second and in which custodial grandparents report worse self-assessed health than noncaregiving grandparents, particularly in the areas of physical functioning, bodily pain, role functioning, social functioning, and general health perception. (Neely-Barnes et al., 2010, p. 88)Not only are the grandparents not being able to properly maintain their own health, but among custodial grandparents, higher levels of depression have been found among unmarried grandparents who were not working. (p. 88) This new parenting role that the grandparents are put into also effects their social life in one study, half of custodial grandparents reported that they felt isolated from friends in their age group due to their caregiving responsibilities. (p. 88) Grandparents usually feel worn out by the amount of extra responsibilities they have come to take on which ca n make them feel worried when they think about having many more years of having to take care of their grandchildren. This type of constant worrying and stress can become quite a negative thing both(prenominal) for the grandparent and grandchild because grandparents who are stressed are more likely to become depressed. (Baldock, 2007, p. 73) FinancialsWhen grandparents are put into the situation of speech their grandchildren into their care, one of the most difficult issues they have to deal with is the financial aspect of raising the children. The financial aspect of raising the grandchildren can be so hard to handle because many of the grandparents are older and even retired which means limited income. In around one third of grandparent families (34%), one of both grandparents were employed, while 62% take upd a government pension, allowance or other benefit as their primary income. (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) Children are expensive to raise because of the extra clothing, food, and ho me resources that are used. The grandparents are used to and comfortable with their current lifestyle and then when the unexpected young grandchildren are brought into the picture this can make the once sufficient income dig into financial instability.Grandparents going through legal proceedings can also be another reason finances are put into a moderate when the need to take in your grandchildren is needed because grandparents are commonly ineligible for legal aid and consequently face disadvantage in proceedings (Baldock, 2007, p. 72). one and only(a) way that is used to try to gain some type of extra income for the grandchildren is by formalising their parenting role through legal proceedings which can be the only way grandparents are able to access financial support. (p. 72) The cost of providing for their grandchildren and all of the court related procedures needed to be done becomes such a burden that some grandparents have mortgaged their homes to undertake legal proceedin gs. (p. 72) Impacts on the FamilyThe result of custodial grandparents not only effects just the grandparents and grandchildren, but the whole family. The strain of raising grandchildren can be felt in the children of the grandparents some felt resentful that their parents energy was going into raising their grandchildren and their own children mixed-up out on a relationship with their grandparents. (Baldock, 2007, p. 72) In many families the reason that the grandparents need to raise their grandchildren is due to some type of addiction from the birth parents.This drug use can cause emotional and social problems in the grandparents and grandchildren which can make the grandparentsfeel blamed or express a sense of responsibility for their own childrens drug use.(p. 73) Grandparents often feel as though there was something they could have done to prevent their childrens drug abuse which in turn would have prevented the need for them to raise their grandchildren. This feeling of blame and shame exacerbate social isolation and increase psychological anxiety experienced by grandparents and their grandchildren. (p. 73)The effects on the grandchildren of not having their parent or parents around is difficult to for them to cope with because children separated from their parents because of alcohol and other drugs frequently face psychological, emotional and sometimes physical problems. (Baldock, 2007, p. 71) According to Day and Bazemore (2011children living without their biological parents typically present with high rates of psychological problems. Yet, by comparison, adolescents living with grandparent caregivers have the lowest levels of both internalizing problems (i.e. depressive symptoms, negative outlook, low self-esteem), and externalizing problems (i.e. nonviolent delinquency, general violent tendencies, and substance abuse. (p. 103) PositionI have first hand experience in the struggles and issues that can renegade from a grandparent having to put their liv es on hold and take in their grandchildren in order to provide them a loving and stable home. My parents are currently in the process of adopting my two nephews whom they, as well as myself, have taken care of since they were born. My sister is in a rehabilitation program in Yankee New Jersey for addiction to pills, cocaine, and heroin and has been in and out of trouble since her early teens. Growing up the way I did because of the situations and conditions that my sister made my family endure has shown me just how difficult and numerous the issues are when raising your grandchildren.My mother is sixty years old and my father is sixty-two, both having some health problems. Health problems associated with age can have a significant affect on how the grandparents are going to be able to act in their new role as caregivers because many grandparents are older and their health is declining. Taking care of a six and a nine year old can be mentally and physically exhausting. My nephews ha ve many psychological issues because their mother is gone and father is hardly around, these emotional troubles of my nephews also effect me and parents too. My nephews have ADHD and are quite sensitive which makes it even more difficult to calm them down if they are feeling upset or angry because they are missing their mother. I find the emotional impact it has on the children and family to be the greatest because of my experience in knowing how difficult is to cope with the entire situation.The financial responsibility for taking grandchildren in can be quite detrimental to the grandparents because many are retired or only working part-time in order to make a itsy-bitsy extra coin. My father is retired which has made the raising of two new children quite difficult before they received any assistance from the state. While most families receive financial assistance through state and federal aid, there may be certain circumstances in which a family has to come up with the money the mselves. Grandparents know how expensive children are because of their past experience in raising their own children, however times have changed and the cost of raising children has significantly increased. This financial burden put onto the grandparents is not a choice they make, but rather something they just have to endure because there is no other option for the grandchildren. AfterthoughtsIt is obvious that grandparents who have to bring their grandchildren into their home and raise them because of varying circumstances will inevitably face numerous amount of hardships and issues. The grandparents being older makes the task of raising their grandchildren difficult, along with the cost involved in raising them and the legal proceedings that are done in order to protect the children. While the hardships of custodial grandparents is plenty, many who have attended support groups say that it has made a positive difference in their lives (Baldock, 2007, p.73), which can help them to cope with the new situations they are being placed in. Even though raising grandchildren comes with multiple and varying issues that make it difficult to do, grandparents who are raising their grandchildren consistently report that the experience adds joy and meat to their lives and provides them with companionship and a purposeful social and familial role. (Kropf Burnette, 2003, p. 363)