Grandparenting
by Richard H. Gentzler, Jr., D.Min.
"Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go." Lyrics written in 1844 by Lydia Maria Child paint a picture of a family making their way to grandmother's house on Christmas Day. But in today's world, that picture doesn't always reflect reality. Many children are already living in a grandparent-headed household. And, for many of these children, no parent is living there — the grandparent is the primary caregiver.
According to the 2000 US Census, there are more than 4.5 million children under 18 living in grandparent-headed households. One-third of these children have no parent present in the home.
When parents have been unable or unwilling to care for their children, grandparents have stepped in as a safety net to keep these families together and out of the formal foster-care system. In fact, there are eight times more children in grandparent-headed homes than in the foster-care system.
Grandparents raising grandchildren are responding to a problem in the middle (parent) generation, such as a death of the parent, illness, divorce, immaturity, incarceration of the parent, parental substance abuse, child abuse, or neglect. Grandparents are motivated by the love they feel for their grandchildren and step in to fill a gap created by the problem.
But the challenges many of these families face can seem insurmountable. Grandparents raising grandchildren must deal with issues relating to child care, education, medical care (including insurance coverage), legal concerns, faith development, and emotional support. While grandparent-headed families cross all race and socio-economic levels, these grandparents are more likely to live in poverty than other grandparents.
Much like society in general, increasing numbers of grandparents in our churches are raising their grandchildren. In our effort to support leaders of older-adult ministries, this special issue of Center Sage is on grandparenting. We hope leaders will find the articles and resources helpful for their ministry with grandparents raising grandchildren.
Dr. Richard H. Gentzler, Jr. (rgentzler@gbod.org) is the Director of the Center on Aging & Older-Adult Ministries, Nashville, Tennessee.