When Grandparents Raise Their Grandchildren ... it is important to consider how today’s social policies effect grandparents and the grandchildren for whom they care. The prospect of raising grandchildren is bound to trigger a range of emotions. With healthy, traditional families becoming an endangered species, grandparents can be positive contributors in the lives of their own grandchildren, as well as helping children whose grandparents live far away. An estimated 3 million older adults are raising their grandchildren. Challenges faced by grandparents who raise their grandchildren: • Emotional stress: The burden felt by grandparents in the process of raising children. Grandparents who actively cope with challenges experience less stress and fewer negative outcomes. In the midst of all this, grandparents are reaching out across generational lines to communicate and get to know younger people. Grandparents raising grandchildren experience higher levels of caregiver depression, but at the same time, the experience can be rewarding and meaningful and therefore may be beneficial to psychological well-being for both grandparents and grandchildren. Grandparents end up raising their grandchildren because their parents are incarcerated, have a mental disorder or have substance abuse/addiction issues, high rate of divorce, increase of single parent households, death of parents and AIDS. Child and adolescent psychiatrists recognize the important role many grandparents play in raising their grandchildren. Despite the hurdles and challenges, the grandchildren appear by and large to do well, new research has found. Effects on Kids. Child and adolescent psychiatrists recognize the important role many grandparents play in raising their grandchildren. Grandparents are in a unique position in the family circle to provide a great service. www.raisingyourgrandchildren.com On our regular website, many grandparents have filled out the survey we have posted. Several have left comments on the positive experiences they have had and what has helped them while raising their grandchildren. Among controls, such positive and negative effects decreased and increased, respectively. 8/2/2013 by sarah. By Barbara Lockhart, CYSA President. 1. Just having them around your kids can have positive psychological effects … While contending with their own issues, many grandparents are raising grandchildren because their children are facing their own difficulties. It is a struggle and an investment full of sacrifices, but many say that they would do it again. Grandparents often have to suffer a tremendous amount of strain while raising grandchildren, and studies like these, however small, are more of a sign of how much our grandparents … • Health: Grandparents raising grandchildren might not be as physically able as parents. The average income for a home with grandparents raising grandchildren is less than $20k when only the grandmother is present, which is 1 million of the households where grandparents are raising children. An estimated 3 million older adults are raising their grandchildren. They say that spending a few hours with their grandchildren can make grandparents feel young again. The positive influence that grandparents can have on their grandchildren’s development is profound. Low-income grandparents caring for their grandchildren often face difficult financial times, says a new report from CFED and Generations United. Mental health professionals, including child and adolescent psychiatrists, community mental health centers, child welfare agencies and parent-teacher associations are other important resources for the grandparents.