Huron-Perth Boomers Winter 2023-24

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COMMUNITY Grandparents raising grandkids THERE ARE OVER 32,000 ‘SKIP-GENERATION FAMILIES’ IN CANADA BY JILL ROBERTSON
y Jill Robertson There are many situations in life that can lead to grandparents taking over the primary caregiving of their grandchildren. There are many terms for it, including “skip-generation families,” “grand-families,” or “kinship care,” but in essence, it is a circumstance where grandparents take on the parenting role for their grandchildren. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, there are over 32,000 such families in Canada, and that number has continued to rise over the years. It is important to mention that these grandparents are typically also living in a “sandwich generation,” meaning they are raising their grandchildren, and possibly their own children, while also supporting their aging parents or relatives. The care they provide for their family members, young or aging, requires a multitude of capacity, ability, and resources. Grandparent primary caregivers do not get the opportunity to have a typical grandparent relationship with their grandchildren. They do not get to be an exciting place for grandchildren to come for a weekend, to be spoiled with treats and fun activities. Rather, they are tasked with the tougher aspects of the caregiving role, such as potty training, assigning chores, and making sure vegetables are eaten. They don’t have the option of sending children back home after a short, fun-filled visit. Grandparent caregiving is for the long haul and includes both the good moments and the tough ones. For many of these folks, this also means their retirement plans must change. Though many have reached the point in life where they wished to downsize their home, travel more, and join local clubs, not all of this is possible when they have had to shift back into a parenting role. This was true for Adrienne and her husband, who are raising their grandchild. “In our retirement years, the challenge of raising our grandchild means that we have had to rearrange our home, our time, our energy, our finances, and our mindset to provide a stable, loving family home that is safe from trauma, neglect, abuse and lack of provisions that my grandchild has experienced,” Adrienne said. There are many reasons parents may be unable to care for their children and have passed that role to their own parents. Some examples include substance misuse, child maltreatment, parenting capacity, financial strain, housing, illness, mental health issues, incarceration, military service, teenage pregnancy, or sometimes even the death of the parent. In most of these cases, the care is being passed due to a significant loss or big change in the grandchildren’s lives. Therefore, these grandparents are in the position not only of providing care, but potentially WINTER <strong>2023</strong>/<strong>24</strong> • 11
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Huron-Perth Boomers Winter 2023-24

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