| Resource Guide for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren |
| Starting Points for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is a resource guide developed by the Illinois Department on Aging. This resource guide provides information and telephone numbers to assist grandparents raising grandchildren. | ||
| AARP has two websites, and a telephone hotline for grandparents which gives expert advice on difficult issues like raising grandchildren and visitation rights. Call 1.800.424.2310. | ||
| Grandparents’ Visitation Rights | Resource Guide for Southern Illinois | The Statistics |
Do any of the following emotions sound familiar? If so, you are not alone. Grandparents raising their grandchildren experience all kinds of emotional ups and downs. These emotions represent the feelings of grandparents who are confronted with the challenge of raising their children’s children.
The emotional ups ...
- Faith – that your grandchildren’s lives will be stable and sound.
- Satisfaction – in knowing you are making a better life for your grandchildren.
- Comfort – in knowing your grandchildren are safe with you.
- Gratification – in knowing you are making a difference in your grandchildren’s lives.
- Courage – to take on the responsibility of parenting (and it is a big responsibility.)
- Inspiration – that comes with hearing your grandchildren say, “I love you.”
- Gain – in personal satisfaction knowing you are strong enough for this task.
- Sense of Order – when things go right.
- Pride – in yourself and your grandchildren for persevering through tough times.
- Compassion – in your relationships with your grandchildren, their friends and others.
- Hope – that the situation will get better.
... and emotional downs that you may encounter ...
- Denial – of the current situation - unrealistic expectations that the parents will become responsible.
- Fear – of how you will be able to financially and emotionally care for your grandchildren.
- Guilt – thinking you should have or could have done things differently with your child.
- Anger – at your child for abandoning or not being a responsible parent.
- Sacrifice – in order to keep your family together.
- Loss – of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, as well as peer contacts.
- Frustration - when things don’t go as planned.
- Sadness – at the loss of a child and of the typical grandparent role.
- Disappointment – in not being able to do the things you wanted at this stage in your life.
- Confusion – in understanding the issues facing children today.
- Embarrassment – at having to ask for assistance for raising your “new family,” and asking yourself, “How could my child do this to me?”
- Isolation – from your friends and “child-free” social networks.
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