Why Grandparents Raise Their Grandchildren?

Running head: WHY GRANDPARENTS RAISE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN?1
Why Grandparents Raise Their Grandchildren?
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WHY GRANDPARENTS RAISE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN?

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Why Grandparents Raise Their Grandchildren?


The sighting of a grandparent holding a grandchild's hand in a public place is so common many accept as part of child development. In pre-modern periods, extended families were a daily fact family members just practiced in many cultures and according to different customs, practices and conventions without much ado. In a modern world, however, extended families are more scarce. Instead, nuclear families are now a standard and extended family members, including grandparents, are becoming more and more as guests. The complexities and stressors of modern life are, moreover, straining nuclear family life to a point of breakdown. The dissolution of nuclear family, for a number of reasons discussed in current essay, has given way to a caregiving practice performed by grandparents in addition to or, often, completely apart from parental primary care. Indeed, more and more grandparents are now giving care to grandchildren whether voluntarily or, due to court orders and custody issues, not. To put matters into more perspective, a closer discussion of why more and more grandparents are now caring for grandchildren in absence of, or perhaps despite of, parental presence. This essay aims, accordingly, to identify and discuss underlying reasons why more and more grandparents are caring for grandchildren.
Primarily, unstable marriage life is one major factor grandparents are assuming more responsibility caring for grandchildren. Indeed, as fathers and mothers part ways, many challenges emerge including caring for a child almost left behind. If settled out of court, a child's custody is usually assumed by grandparents. If not, courts decide usually decide for grandparents as well to assume responsibility – unless grandparents are not qualified, in any financial and/or health-related way, to raise a child of divorced or separated parents (Henig, 2018). Motivated by
WHY GRANDPARENTS RAISE THEIR GRANDCHILDREN?

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