Successfully Raising Grandchildren

While sitting at a local coffee shop in our city, I began thinking about how grateful I am to have been blessed with the family that God has given me. While my wife, Brenda, and I were raising our three sons, Kevin Jr., Keith and Kenneth, we never did think we would have the blessing of seeing our grandchildren. After all, my youngest son, Kenneth, just recently graduated from high school. We thought that after our three boys were grown, we would be finished with raising or helping to raise children. However we quickly discovered that after you have raised your children, you must also help to successfully raise your grandchildren. Many of the same principles in good parenting apply to good grandparenting, and this book will help you work out the differences, and successfully raise your grandchildren for God's glory. --Kevin D. Barnes, Sr. and Brenda Barnes

If you are a grandparent raising your grandchildren, help has arrived. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 10% of all grandparents in the nation are raising their grandkids, and the number is going up. You may be one of the millions of these grandparents and it's a role you never expected. Willing as you are to assume this role, you have some questions. How will I find the energy for this? Is my grandchild normal? What if I "blow it?" Each day, you look for ways to make life easier. This book will: •Help ease your worries and guilt; •Offer tips for creating a grandfamily; •Give methods for improving grandparent-grandchild communication; •Suggest ideas for how you can connect with your grandchild's school; •Provide child development information; •Recommend approaches to help your grandchild set goals; •Stress the importance of having fun together; •Offer ideas of how to foster your grandchild's hopes and dreams. So, You're Raising Your Grandkids blends Harriet Hodgson's wise and moving grandparenting story with recent research and findings. It shares her 21 years of caregiving experience, including seven years of raising her twin grandkids. Each chapter ends with What Works, proven tips for grandparents raising grandkids. At the end, you'll cheer for all the loving grandparents---including you---who are putting grandchildren first.

There’s a quiet epidemic in our culture: The fastest-growing type of family unit is grandparents charged with the task of raising their children’s children. Though there are myriad reasons for this—the death of one’s adult child, parental drug addiction, abusive living situations, or incarceration, to name a few—the effects tend to be the same: Senior citizens who expected to spend their golden years relaxing or traveling are now seeing their dreams dashed. Those on limited incomes are feeling the strain and are frightened about their futures. And the mental, spiritual, and physical exhaustion of parenting and disciplining children many decades their junior, exacerbated by a technology gap, is overwhelmingly real. And yet, through their sacrificial service, these seniors are acting as kinsman-redeemers for their grandchildren—keeping them out of the foster care system and giving them the best shot possible for a successful life. In When Grandparents Become Parents, experienced author Rick Johnson details both the challenges and solutions these heroic seniors face, offering strategies and resources (including real advice from other grandparents) to deal with major areas of stress—incorporating humor, common sense, and practical advice along the way.

You are not alone if you are one of the staggering numbers of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren! Are you confused by the generational gaps, challenging communications, and tough questions like, “Why are my parents so old? Why is my father in jail? Why doesn’t my mother show up to visit when she promised?” The Sacred Work of Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren is the first book that contains answers and stories to address these unique issues and challenges—from one grandparent to another. You’ll enjoy the practical suggestions on how grandchildren can manage and solve some of their own problems, while learning how to cope with your own distinctive life challenges. As a parenting grandparent, a kinship caregiver, a teacher, or a social service worker, you must read this book for invaluable insight. No other book takes on the complex challenges that parenting grandparents face with such depth and truth. How relieved and grateful you’ll be for the inspiration, knowledge and wisdom by the time you reach the conclusion! “Through the stories told by grandparents themselves, Elaine K. Williams reveals the challenges, commitment, and love experienced by grandparents raising their grandchildren. This book not only provides understanding and helpful information, but will also touch the hearts of all who read it.” —Sandy P., a grandparent who raised a grandchild “I’ve waited five years for this wonderful author, Elaine K. Williams, to complete her groundbreaking gathering of knowledge from three generations so that we can clearly see the patterns of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. The most important points are to help grandparents understand the dynamics of the emotional and behavioral challenges their grandchildren face, and the impactful trauma that all generations experience. She brings the keys of caring, connection, and communication forward to assist families to heal. Highly recommended.” —Dr. Caron Goode, EdD, NCC, author of the award-winning book Raising Intuitive Children

About the Book Our Grandfamily is an honest, yet reassuring look at the struggles and joys of living in a skip-generation family. Designed as a flip-sided book, dual stories allow readers to experience a unique type of family arrangement from the perspective of both grandparents and grandchildren. With humour, heart, and highlighted feeling words to inspire conversation, Our Grandfamily is both entertaining and educational. About Skip-Generation Families The portrait of the North American family is changing dramatically, with skip-generation families becoming increasingly common. These special households consist of grandparents and grandchildren living life together. The middle generation, parents, are absent from the home - but still loved. This complex style of family faces numerous challenges and support can be difficult to find. The purpose of this book is to raise awareness of Grandfamilies, to reduce the isolation felt by many grandparents and grandchildren, and to encourage meaningful discussions both within skip-generation families and throughout the broader community. About The SHARE Project Our Grandfamily is the result of the collective efforts of those involved in The SHARE Project. SHARE stands for Skip-Generation Families Helping Others through Awareness Resources and Education. The project was inspired by grandparents and grandchildren living in skip-generation families in Calgary, Alberta and was generously funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program. In addition to this children's book, the SHARE Project group also produced a resource for grandparents titled, Lasting Legacy: A Handbook of Guidance and Hope for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. This resource is available free of charge at www.childrenslink.ca.

This unique book examines variability among custodial grandparent caregivers. It focuses on diversity among grandparent-headed families in domestic and international settings, with over 35 contributors exploring the many factors that contribute to such diversity. It also examines diversity across individual differences, especially those of gender and age, ethnicity and race, and culture. An awareness of their uniqueness is essential to the process of understanding the demands of custodial grandparents' new roles, and in providing appropriate services to them. Whatever the reason, most grandparents raising grandchildren never anticipated that they would parent again. For most, this new role causes significant upheaval in their lives. Problems contributing to stress may include having to give up or reduce hours of work, early retirement, and providing financial and emotional support for their grandchildren. This book is a valuable resource for practitioners and extension educators who work with grandparents raising their grandchildren. It provides a wealth of information and a basis on which national and state-run services can evaluate their current policies and devise funds, services, and programs that will help this growing population successfully raise their grandchildren.

Numbers of grandparents caring for grandchildren continue to increase. Circumstances may vary, but grandparents often share similar challenges and unique strengths. Using this book encourages grandparent caregivers to expand their views about their not-so-new role through: - Short readings - Creative activities - Relevant examples - Personal reflections This fast paced resource provides a weekly dose of wisdom, insight and ways to reaffirm your commitment to the critical job you've undertaken: that of caregiving grandparent.

Todays grandparents have many roles with their grandchildren. Some grandparents provide care on a regular basis when the childs parents arent available; others are great playmates with their grandchildren or what many may think of as traditional grandparents. An emerging role that some grandparents find themselves in is raising their grandchildren. Grandchildren, Our Hopes and Dreams provides practical help, encouragement and a wealth of knowledge and understanding to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.