The Marriage Counseling Blog

The addition of children to any marriage adds a complexity to the relationship and to the lifestyle as a whole. No matter how many times or in how many ways someone else says that children add new and varied levels to a relationship and to a life, it is something that really just isn’t understood until you are actually in those shoes. For Grandparents who find themselves raising their grandchildren, the simple fact that they have already experienced the process is just another level in the complexity they face.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

For a variety of reasons, more and more Grandparents are finding themselves raising their grandkids. The reasons can be vastly different; perhaps it is because their own child is facing addiction or mental health issues. Maybe their grown child is deployed in the Armed Forces for an extended time. It is also possible that their child has passed away, leaving the grandchildren behind.

Whatever the reasons, the outcome is that a generational and emotional divide exists in these relationships and often involves complex bonds.

Concerns of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

There are many different fears and concerns that have to be addressed by the family, and family therapy offers an outlet and a guide to help with those fears.

• The Grandparent may feel resentful, hurtful or sorrowful that they must deal with the absence of their child as a parental figure to the Grandchild.
• The Grandparent may feel fear, believing that they will make a mistake and “mess up” their own Grandchild.
• The Grandparent may feel fear that they, too, will die and leave no one to love and care for their Grandchild.

Family Therapy is one of the many ways that Grandparents raising Grandchildren can get help.

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• Marriage Counseling and Raising a Child
• Who’s Raising Your Kids?
• Raising Your Voice at Your Spouse
• Therapy For a New World