There are thousands of grandparents raising their grandchildren in the United Kingdom, the majority as a consequence of parental drug use or mental health issues. This book recounts the real-life stories of grandparent carers who chose to put their own lives on hold so that their loved ones can be properly cared for.
Whilst most grandparent carers remain as unsupported informal carers, some seek to formalise their position by becoming Social Services Kinship Carers or achieve legal routes to independent care as Special Guardians or with a Child Arrangement Order. Whether formal or informal, full-time grandparent carers face life-changing futures. Immediate concerns are work, child care, the behaviour of the child, contact with the birth parents and financial support, and there is often no clear path to learning their rights and available support. There is also the challenge involved in balancing their bonds with their adult children while protecting their grandchildren. In this book, grandparents talk in detail about these issues and of how professionals and services have at times helped and not helped. These candid stories also explore how moving to live with grandparents can be experienced by both child and carer as simultaneously a gain and a loss.
The stories offer support, and the book also includes professional advice to encourage grandparents to acknowledge their value, accept their limitations, develop realistic expectations about what they can and cannot achieve, and recognise that all successes should be celebrated.
Whilst most grandparent carers remain as unsupported informal carers, some seek to formalise their position by becoming Social Services Kinship Carers or achieve legal routes to independent care as Special Guardians or with a Child Arrangement Order. Whether formal or informal, full-time grandparent carers face life-changing futures. Immediate concerns are work, child care, the behaviour of the child, contact with the birth parents and financial support, and there is often no clear path to learning their rights and available support. There is also the challenge involved in balancing their bonds with their adult children while protecting their grandchildren. In this book, grandparents talk in detail about these issues and of how professionals and services have at times helped and not helped. These candid stories also explore how moving to live with grandparents can be experienced by both child and carer as simultaneously a gain and a loss.
The stories offer support, and the book also includes professional advice to encourage grandparents to acknowledge their value, accept their limitations, develop realistic expectations about what they can and cannot achieve, and recognise that all successes should be celebrated.
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Reviews
This book is a powerful collection of grandparents' experiences of stepping in to care for their grandchildren as kinship carers, their sacrifices and struggles for support. It's also full of love and hope - grandparents putting their grandchildren first and doing whatever it takes to support them; kinship carers supporting each other through peer support groups. And, importantly, it's a rallying cry for more recognition and support for kinship carers who have been taken for granted for too long.
This is a vitally important book for anyone caring for or considering caring for grandchildren, anyone who in the informal network around someone caring for grandchildren and for agencies working with these families. The stories are painful to read but show determination and dedication. They are hopeful stories for families struggling with the impact of addiction. This is a book of acquired wisdom and resourceful information.
There is nothing more important to a child's life chances than being raised in a safe, stimulating and nurturing environment. The contribution and sacrifice of grandparents who step in to provide this is, therefore, of immeasurable value and should be supported as much as possible. This collection of testimonies will, I trust, offer reassurance, a sense of community and much practical wisdom to grandparents who are similarly placed.