Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

It's not on par with Mother's Day or Father's Day, Valentine's Day or President's Day, but along with the fact that people are living longer and more grandparents are in closer contact with their grandchildren for a variety of reasons, I would guess that this day will soon be up there with the best of them.

The grandparents that I think deserve a day of honor, and it should be separate from today are the grandparents that are raising their grandchildren.

I read stories about them all the time, and my heart goes out to them. I know from Day Caring my granddaughter, one of the blessings of being a grandparent is that she can go home to her own parents who will cherish and love her as much as my husband and I do.

If that situation doesn't exist for a child, for whatever reasons (death of the parents or drug abuse etc.) a new one has to be created.

In the stories I read, grandparents have rearranged their lives to benefit the children the best they can. But--- it's hard. Each situation is different, but all these grandparents are making tremendous sacrifices everyday. (I am sure there are also tremendous blessings!)

If you are one of these grandparents raising grandchildren, the flowers above are for you.

If you haven't visited the link http://www.grandparenting.typepad.com/ this link is for you, also http://www.raisingyourgrandchildren.com/

Grand numbers

5.7 MILLION: The number of grandparents in the United States whose grandchildren, younger than

18, live with them.

2.5 MILLION: The number of grandparents responsible for most of the basic needs of one or more of the grandchildren who live with them. Of these caregivers, 1.5 million are grandmothers and 915,000 are grandfathers.

1.7 MILLION: The number of grandparent-caregivers who are married.

1.4 MILLION: The number of grandparents who are in the labor force and also responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren.

912,000: Number of grandparents responsible for caring for their grandchildren for at least the past five years.

496,000: Number of grandparents whose income is below the poverty level and who are caring for their grandchildren.

753,000: Number of grandparents with a disability who are caring for their grandchildren.

$40,359: Median income for families with grandparent-caregiver households.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2005 American Community Survey

(from the Seattle Times)