Parenting your grandchildren is not like parenting your own children. It is a much more difficult task. In the United States it is estimated that there are more than 3.9 million households of grandparents parenting their grandchildren. There are many reasons why grandparents may need to act in the capacity of parent to their grandchildren. In some cases, the parents may have died, have mental disorders, substance abuse, be incarcerated or have abandoned their children.
And because of many of those reasons, grandparents may be feeling their own sense of failure, guilt and embarrassment. What would already be a difficult job because of the loss to the grandchildren that they must deal with, there may be the additional burden of trying to help their own children, they may have to deal with an alienation of their own child or they may be suffering through the loss of that child.
The grandchildren will definitely be feeling loss and possibly abandonment. They may also have suffered abuse or neglect and are likely to feel insecure and angry. They could have had prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol or may have psychological or physical problems because of earlier experiences.
And because of many of those reasons, grandparents may be feeling their own sense of failure, guilt and embarrassment. What would already be a difficult job because of the loss to the grandchildren that they must deal with, there may be the additional burden of trying to help their own children, they may have to deal with an alienation of their own child or they may be suffering through the loss of that child.
The grandchildren will definitely be feeling loss and possibly abandonment. They may also have suffered abuse or neglect and are likely to feel insecure and angry. They could have had prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol or may have psychological or physical problems because of earlier experiences.
