Grandparents raising grandchildren
"When you are a Grandparent, starting to parent again, you don’t fit anywhere. The friends you had before, as much as they try to support you, realize very quickly you are no longer able to do the things with them that you once did. They view you in two ways, either you are crazy or you are a saint. We are neither."
– About the challenges of raising your own children's children. From the Raising Our Children's Kids (R.O.C.K.) Hamilton web page
Approximately 62,500 Canadian children (20,000 of them in Ontario) are being raised by relatives other than their parents. That's according to CANGRANDS—a non-profit organization which provides support to grandparents and other relatives who have stepped in to provide care for a child when the child's parents are unable to do so.
Typically family members step in when a parent is unable to care to a child (for reasons related to abuse or neglect, for example) or if the parent has died. Often, the relative providing care is a female relative (most often a grandmother or an aunt) who is retired and living on a very low income. That income has to stretch more than that relative ever envisioned. In one in five families in which a grandparent is raising grandchildren, the grandparent is raising two or more children.
Unfortunately, grandparents and other relatives frequently fail to qualify for the types of government programs that would provide financial support to non-relative care providers providing support to the same child. There can also be a similar lack of government-funded services for the children themselves, many of whom may have suffered neglect and support in their former living situation.
If you or someone you know is in this situation, you may want to make contact with one or more of the following groups, which have been attempting to raise awareness of the challenges faced by grandparents and other relatives raising grandchildren and children.
CANGRANDS HYPERLINK "http://www.cangrands.com" www.cangrands.com
Grand-Parenting Again Canada HYPERLINK "http://www.grandparentingagaincanada.com" www.grandparentingagaincanada.com
Raising Our Children's Kids (R.O.C.K.), City of Hamilton – Public Health HYPERLINK "http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/HealthandSocialServices/PublicHealth/Workplace/Raising+Our+Childrens+Kids.htm" http://www.myhamilton.ca/myhamilton/CityandGovernment/HealthandSocialServices/PublicHealth/Workplace/Raising+Our+Childrens+Kids.htm
• Ann Douglas is the author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and numerous other books about pregnancy and parenting. Join in the conversation at her brand new blog at HYPERLINK "http://thestar.blogs.com/anndouglas" http://thestar.blogs.com/anndouglas.
