The roles of grandparents in educating today's children

The success of children in school depends on the home environment as well as school environment. School administrators, teachers, and counselors interact with the families of children for a variety of reasons, and often the point of contact is a grandparent. The population of grandparents is diverse, ranging in age from 30-110 years and encompassing many different economic levels, ethnic groups, and family constellations.

An understanding of the needs of grandparents in the context of school involvement will help school administrators, teachers, and counselors work more effectively with them to provide the most appropriate education and chances for school success for children living in a variety of home environments. This paper will discuss the roles of grandparents in the lives of their grandchildren and the impact of their relationship on grandparents as well as the children.

Children are growing up in blended families, families with both parents working, single parent families, multigenerational families, and families headed by grandparents. In this changing atmosphere, grandparents are assuming important roles in the rearing of their grandchildren. From 1980-1993 the number of households headed by grandparents increased 40-44%. Some children are moving back home after divorce or the death of a spouse. Others are returning home because they need to save money. Grandparents may volunteer or be coerced into becoming babysitters for their grandchildren. Others are becoming surrogate parents when their children will not, or cannot, take care of the grandchildren. The purpose of this paper is to discuss grand-parenting in the twenty-first century by examining the impact of grandparents raising grandchildren on the grandparents and grandchildren. An understanding of the issues involved in their relationship can benefit school administrators, teachers and counselors as they interact with grandparents.

Who are the Twenty-First Century Grandparents?

Most of the research relates to grandparents in participatory or care-taking roles, grandparents who are elderly, or grandparent members of groups who use special assistance programs. The most common sources of information have been U.S census statistics, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), or sample studies using convenience samples.

In a time past views of the elderly and views of grandparents were synonymous. Grandparents were seen as physically frail, out of touch with current life styles, and old fashioned. The profile of the average grandparent today is quite different from that former stereotype. Because individuals are becoming grandparents at an earlier age mad living longer, they are likely to be healthy, relatively well off, and have a living spouse.The average grandparent is white, female, and healthy. Most grandparents are married, and if they are single they are more likely to be females. About 50% are working.

In 1995 at least 75% of older Americans were grandparents and almost 50 percent of them were great-grandparents, many of whom were raising their great-grandchildren. However, in 1995 one-half of all U.S. grandparents were less than 60 years of age and one-half of the under 60 group was less that 55 years old. These figures tell us that most grandparents are not members of the elderly population. In fact, the estimated grandparent age ranges from 30 to 110, with the median age between 53-57. Factors that are often cited in the literature for the growing numbers of grandparents are; the aging of post World War II baby boomers, longer life expectancy, early age of becoming a grandparent, and changes in the family life cycle. We can conclude that the number of grandparents will increase as the younger grandparents age and additional young people become grandparents.

Reported statistics concerning the economic status of grandparents can be confusing. Twelve percent of the elderly population lives in poverty, but 27% of grandparent households are below the poverty line. Two factors could account for this difference. About one half of the grandparents are below 60 years old. Thus, at least half the grandparents are not counted in the elderly population. Also, of the grandparents who are considered elderly, more of the poor elderly, rather than financially secure, are caring for grandchildren.

Contributing to the financial woes of grandparents are the facts that grandparents raising grandchildren may reduce work hours, retire early, postpone a new career, and spend their savings to pay the added expenses of the grandchildren. They also have increased expenses for healthcare for themselves and the children. Thus, more than twice the number of households headed by grandparents are below the poverty line as compared to the total elderly population.

Increasingly, grandparents who represent all socioeconomic and ethnic groups are serving as surrogate parents. Although more Caucasian children are raised by grandparents, a larger percentage of the population of African American children are living in the care of a grandparent. Pinson-Millburn & Fabian) reported that 12% of all African American children live with grandparents, compared to 6% Hispanic and 4% Caucasian children. By midlife African Americans are nearly two times as likely as Caucasians to be grandparent caregivers and to have lived in the care of a grandparent when a child.

In 2000 one-third of American grandparents were baby boomers. By 2030 this cohort of grandparents will be 66-84 years old and comprise 20% of the total population. They are called the sandwich generation because they are caring for grandchildren and for their aging parents or grandparents at the same time thereby reducing the amount of time they have to help school age grandchildren with schoolwork. On a brighter side, sandwich generation grandparents are valuable as surrogate parents, keepers of the family ties, and as transmitters of culture, facts that could be valuable resources for schools.

Grandparents spend different amounts of time and resources in their relationships with their grandchildren. Care-taking roles are referred to as custodial or surrogate parenting in the literature. In this paper grandparenting activities will be grouped into voluntary care-taking, involuntary care-taking, participatory caring, and limited contact according to the amount of involvement grandparents have in the lives of grandchildren. Limited contact does not equal indifference and care-taking roles do not always reflect a desire to be responsible for grandchildren, as we will see in the discussion of voluntary and involuntary care-taking.

Limited contact refers to grandparents who have little or no contact for whatever reasons. Limited Contact

What is the Role of Grandparents?

Working, travel or other retirement activities, and living too far away to see grandchildren often are some of the reasons grandparents may not be actively engaged in the lives of their grandchildren. Other grandparents may have limited contact because they are in extended care facilities, or have restricted contact as a result of divorce, death of one of the parents, or remarriage of the parents of the grandchildren.

Contact varies in the cases of divorce. When the parents of the grandchildren divorce, paternal grandparents are more likely to loose contact with the grandchildren and when the grandparents divorce, the grandfather usually has the most difficult time keeping in contact with the family. Step-grandparents very rarely reach parity with biological grandparents, especially maternal grandparents.