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.

Are you one of nearly 3 million grandparents across North America raising your grandchildren as part of a grandfamily? You may have done all this parenting stuff before, but times have changed since you raised your own kids, and you likely never thought you’d be raising kids again. What has led to all these family issues and the growing need for grandparents to step up? Now more than ever, substance use and addiction have made many birth parents simply unfit for the job, whether the problem is alcohol, opioids, or other drugs. Family dynamics might also be undermined by parents’ mental health or medical problems, incarceration, or a simple lack of preparedness for family responsibilities. Whatever the reason for your new role, you must now help your grandchildren adjust to their extended family as part of their everyday life, through the best care you are able to provide. While your new role means that you will likely have to change the way you live, the kinship care you provide your grandchildren might make all the difference in the world. In The Grandfamily Guidebook—which leading medical experts have called a “must-have” resource for grandparents raising grandchildren—authors Andrew Adesman, MD, and Christine Adamec offer expert medical advice, helpful insights gleaned from other grandparents, and data mined from the 2016 Adesman Grandfamily Study—the broadest and most diverse research study of its kind to date. You’ll also find hands-on tips you’ll be able to reference whenever you need them, including how to cope with difficult birth parents, school issues and social-life challenges, problem behaviors that stem from a difficult past, and your own self-care. Starting with its foreword by the renowned Dr. William Sears, across this book you will find practical, inspiring help as you navigate the financial impacts, legal considerations, and medical issues that commonly arise when grandparents and grandchildren start becoming a grandfamily.

Written from a child’s point of view, this touching picture book centers around a nontraditional family of grandparents raising their grandchild. Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas shares a child’s experience living with and being cared for by grandparents through the eyes of a cheerful and delightful little girl. Uplifting watercolor illustrations give extra warmth to this caring and loving story, to which a growing number of children can identify—over 4.5 million children in the United States are primarily cared for by a grandparent. Poignant moments expressing the child’s curiosity and questions give way to comforting and playful exchanges at home with Nonnie and Poppy. Spending the day with this grandparent–led family, we see that it’s not always Mommies or Daddies that care for children, and that’s okay! Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas is the winner of the 2012 Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging in the primary reader category from the The K-12 Committee of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). It provides a great resource for children who seek reassurance about their particular experience. This unique book will appeal to any grandparent raising or providing long–term care for a grandchild, as well as any teacher who wants to educate children about nontraditional families. Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas sensitively addresses a topic that has been nearly absent in the children’s book market, until now.

A practical and supportive manual containing a 14-session workshop designed to help grandparents who are raising their grandchildren alone, written by a social services professor at Fordham University. Intended to be used by group leaders teaching a workshop, themes covered may be expanded or revised to fit the needs of a particular work group.

This landmark resource investigates and documents current and predicted trends regarding the experiences of grandparents in the United States and abroad. Edited by two of the foremost scholars and educators on the health and wellbeing of grandparents raising their grandchildren, it reflects the enormous changes in the roles of grandparents during the last several decades and explores the historical and social context in which these changes have occurred. With contributions from internationally recognized scholars in family studies, gerontology, human development, psychology, social work, and sociology, this interdisciplinary resource examines the roles of grandparents from multiple perspectives including the cultural/historical, developmental, ecological, and cross cultural, as well as from a clinical/family systems perspective. It reflects the redefinition of the role of grandparents over the past 20 years, mirroring societal shifts in greater longevity and life expectancy, and a greater awareness that grandparenting cannot be viewed in a sociocultural vacuum. Scholars, clinicians, and educators of adult development and aging, will find a wealth of critical information in their fields of endeavor, as will policy makers and clinical practitioners. Print version of the book includes free, searchable, digital access to entire contents of the book! Key Features: Addresses new dimensions of grandparenting such as sexual orientation, health of grandparents, resilience and resourcefulness, step-grandparents, and great-grandparenting Delivers groundbreaking research on the health and wellbeing of grandparents caring for their grandchildren Covers decreasing health disparities, health care coverage, and stipends for grandparents who are not certified kinship providers Examines grief, clinical interventions, grandparent-grandchild and intergenerational relationships, divorce, and the prevalence of multigenerational households Discusses the expanding role of grandfathers, the impact of HIV-AIDS and drug addiction on grandparents, and the global nature of grandparenting Includes clinical case study approaches to helping grandparents

An empowering guide to creating rewarding relationships between parents and their adult children. Parents work hard to raise their children into adulthood, but popular wisdom tells them to bite their tongues and loosen the purse strings once their child is grown! But increasing life spans mean that parents and children can spend as many as five or six decades as adults together: actively parenting adult children is a reality for many families. Dr. Ruth Nemzoff, an expert in family dynamics, empowers parents to forge a close relationship with their children while respecting their independence. Nemzoff shows parents how to: Create an active relationship over long distances Discuss financial issues without using money as a form of control Voice opinions about an adult-child’s child-rearing practices Respond to major changes in an adult child’s life, such as choice of partner, religion, career, and more Don’t Bite Your Tongue is a groundbreaking look at a relationship that’s been invisible for far too long.

Chapter 10 Noncaregiving Grandparent Peers' Perceptions of Custodial Grandparents: Extent of Life Disruption, Needs for Social Support, and Needs for Social and Mental Health Services -- About the Authors -- Index