The Teenage Years

Have you noticed that being a grandparent changes when children become teens? Adolescence is a time of rapid growth in how a teen looks, acts, thinks, and feels. With this growth, teenagers begin to need different things out of life. You may need to change your grandparenting style in order to meet the new needs of your teenagers. You might feel like you don't know them anymore, but don't be alarmed--the changes are usually normal.

For more information regarding the generation gap, adapting parenting styles, puberty, etc. go to:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-09.pdf

From: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Cooperative Extension, The University of Georgia

Caring for Infants and Toddlers

As a grandparent, you may feel "out of practice" in caring for a very young child. It may have been many years since your own children were young. We know more now about how the brain develops and how to keep children safe. the number of "educational" toys and products may seem overwhelming. What's a grandparent raising an infant or toddler to do?

The first step to caring your your young grandchildren is to relax. Even though we've learned more over the last few years about how very young children develop, the basic needs haven't changed all that much. The basics that you gave your own children are still the most important things for your young grandchild: a warm, loving relationship; a safe, secure home; chances to try new things; consistent routines; and gentle, loving guidance. By providing a nurturing home for your grandchild, you are giving her essential support that will help her grow into a healthy, happy adult.

For more information on basic safety, brain development, relationships, etc. visit this site:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-08.pdf

From: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Cooperative Extension, The University of Georgia

Legal Issues in Caring for Your Grandchildren

As a grandparent raising your grandchildren, you might not have imagined being involved with the legal system. but if your grandchildren live with you for a long time, you may eventually need legal support and advice to provide the best care for them. It's important for you to understand laws affecting grandparents raising grandchildren. the following information is a brief introduction to the legal system as it applies to grandparents caring for their grandchildren. You can find more information at the following link:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-07.pdf

but this information is NOT intended to substitute for actual legal advice. If any of these legal issues affect you, your first step is to seek advice from a qualified attorney.


From: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension

Accessing Resources in Your Community

Raising grandchildren can be expensive, especially for grandparents with limited budgets. If you're struggling to make ends meet, you may want to check out the financial resources and services in your community. Your family may be eligible for federal and state financial assistance programs to help with the costs of food, health care, and other expenses. There are also other good resources in your community that can help make the job of raising your grandchildren easier.

Welfare reform has changed the ways that federal and state benefits are distributed to children and families. Changes in food stamps, Medicaid, and Social Security have also happened since welfare reform began in the 1990's. Follow this link  -

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-06.pdf

to a brief introduction to the kinds of resources available. Keep in mind that most financial assistance programs are now administered by local agencies and government offices. Contact the appropriate local offices to get the most current information about the programs.

Provided by Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

What Grandparents Need to Know About Abuse and Neglect

No grandparent likes to imagine a grandchild being mistreated. But the reality is that children who live in a turbulent home -- where chronic problems like family violence or substance abuse take place -- are at high risk for abuse and neglect. As you adjust to the demands of caring for your grandchildren, you might also have to help your grandchildren cope with the aftermath of abuse or neglect.

What Is Child Abuse?
Child abuse is any intentional action that causes physical, emotional or mental damage to a child. Abuse is most often caused by an adult who is more powerful than the child.

Every 21 minutes, a child is abused.  Abuse and neglect can happen anywhere, to children of all races and incomes. It may be happening just down the street, next door, or across the hall from where you live. Children who are abused can have permanent physical or emotional scars. In the most severe cases, abuse can cause death.

For more information regarding types of abuse, signs and symptoms, reporting abuse and the after effects follow this link:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-05.pdf

From: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension

Helping Your Grandchildren Deal with the Death of a Parent

Handling death is always a difficult process. Dealing with your grief stretches your emotional resources, and handling details such as a funeral and burial requires time and planning. For some grandparents, the death of an adult child also means that you must accept responsibility for raising grandchildren.

The stress of so many changes at once can be overwhelming for the entire family. Adults often do not know how to explain a death to children, and are unprepared to help children handle their own grief over the loss of a parent. But with sensitivity and compassion, you can help your grandchildren learn to cope with the death, move through the stages of grief, and find productive ways to express their emotions.

For more information follow this link:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-04.pdf

From Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension

Taking Care of Yourself

Have you ever felt like no one appreciates the time you put into your grandchildren? When you’re caring for children, it may seem like there are not enough hours in the day. You may spend most of your time taking care of others and have less time for the things you enjoy. But it’s important to take time out for you. Follow this link some ideas for how to take care of yourself by managing your time wisely, using relaxation and exercise, taking time-outs to regroup, and joining a support group.

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-02.pdf

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension

Staying in Contact with Parents

Helping Grandchildren Stay in Contact with Parents

Taking on the responsibility of raising grandchildren is not easy, but it also may not be easy for the parent to give up that responsibility. Visits with their parents may help your grandchildren adjust to the changes in their lives. But every family is different. Visits may be helpful in some cases, but may cause stress in others. You and the children’s parents need to decide how to best handle the visits. For visits to go well, both you and the parent have to be flexible and patient. Accepting that the children love you both is essential.

Follow this link for guidelines to help your grandchildren maintain a relationship with their parents:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-02.pdf

From: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

Making the Transition

Moving Your Grandchild Into Your Home

Raising your grandchild can be both rewarding and challenging. The transition to this new relationship can be stressful for the entire family. While your grandchildren are getting used to a new home and caregiver, you must readjust to the responsibilities of parenting. The adjustment will take time and patience on everybody's part. But with some planning and a lot of understanding, you can adapt to the challenges of raising your grandchildren.

Moving to a new home brings a variety of emotions and feelings for any child. Like adults, children grieve for the people, places and things they are leaving behind. For many children, moving into their grandparents's house is complicated by other stresses, such as the loss of regular contact with a parent.

Don't be surprised if your grandchildren feel sadness during the transition to your home. Treating your grandchild's feelings with sensitivity will help make the adjustment a little easier. Keep in mind that children of different ages will need different kinds of support to deal with this transition.

For complete article follow this link:

http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/chfd/CHFD-E-59-01.pdf


The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences

A Crash Course - Child Development

How people look, think, feel, communicate, and act will change as they grow. Many factors influence the path of change. Biology and genetics act together with a person’s situation

and experiences. Research with children and adults shows us how changes in the early years shape later growth. Children’s developmental skills affect every part of their lives,

including:

• what they need

• what they experience

• how they form and keep relationships

• how they communicate

• what they understand

• how they work out problems

For young children, the family plays a crucial role in their development. This fact sheet 

 http://fyi.uwex.edu/grandparenting/files/2011/03/B3786-11.pdf  

will help you understand your grandchild’s development and recognize how family interactions

influence these changes.

Individual differences

Each child develops at his or her own rate. Not all children develop the same skills at the same time. Some babies walk at 10 months and others walk at 14 months. One child may learn to

read at 4 years and another not until 7 years. When children develop skills can be “uneven” as well. One child may develop thinking skills “on-time” but seem behind in his or her social skills.

Culture also plays a role in how children grow and change.

Grandparenting Today - Grandparents Raising Grandchildren – Series of publications covers family relationships and child development issues that you may face as a grandparent raising a grandchild. (University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension)

Preventing Increase in Pertussis

Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Remley said diseases such as measles and whooping cough haven't been eradicated despite childhood vaccinations, and pertussis is creeping back because adults aren't getting the Tdap booster shot.
Michelle Charters, director of Project Immunize Virginia, said adults think vaccines are for kids. "But grandparents are often caregivers and need to be protected" so they don't spread the virus to young grandchildren.
"Babies will die if parents and grandparents don't get immunized to protect them," Lewis said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults receive a one-time dose of Tdap, especially if they are around preschoolers.

from aarp.org

Free Grandparenting/Parenting Toolkit

Bonding and secure attachment are rooted and flourish in the safety of an environment shaped by caregivers who have the skills to remain both calm and focused much of the time. Not all loving parents or grandparents have these skills, but they can be learned. Helpguide’s Bring Your Life Into Balance Toolkit teaches you the skills you need to create secure relationships with the children under your care.

from HelpGuide.com

Make time for some fun!

 Handprint Bouquet of Flowers

from grandparents.com

 

Flowers are nice, but flowers made of handprints are even better! This craft works well for one grandkid or several grandkids working together.

Involving yourself in activities with your grandchild can build the relationship and increase your child's knowledge. Not to mention the fun! Follow the link below for more activities:

 http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/handprint-crafts

Take Care of Yourself

Take Care of Yourself, Get a Support Group

No matter how overwhelmed you feel, take time to get your head above water and see what life preservers are available. Evelyn Phillips, of Marietta, Ga., says she was so consumed by the radical change in her daily life that she didn't ask for help soon enough after her daughter left her four children, all under the age of 5, in her care in 1982. "I felt that no one else could possibly be going through the trials and tribulations that I was going through — running an art gallery and antique shop and taking care of four babies," she says. "But, when I found an online group, all of a sudden I had adults to talk to who, unlike most of my retired friends, actually could relate." Group members helped one another through legal tangles, school dramas, and the occasional "Whatcha cooking for dinner?" quandary.

Set aside some time for yourself daily, even if it's just to take a bath, sit on your porch, play online word games, or dance around the kitchen. Find a babysitter or relative who can help out when you need more than a moment. Go for walks or swims with your grandkids to pass on healthy habits. Get regular check-ups, and be sure to notify your doctor if you feel "blue" or unreasonably exhausted. Evelyn admits this isn't easy. "You become that 'somebody' again.'Somebody' take me to the mall.'Somebody' pick me up from my Scout meeting.'Somebody' sell snacks at my game," she says. "You do it because you want the kids to do what other kids do, but you have to set limits." She and her husband kindly told the school to "cut them slack" on refreshment-stand duty and scaled back on expensive club involvement. She also found a new outlet for her creativity — she taught art to her oldest grandchild's kindergarten class after parenting demands forced her to close her art gallery.

She's also learned that her finest works of art don't need to hang in a gallery. "All my grandchildren are self-sufficient adults who are ready to take care of themselves in this world," she says. "When you've done that, you know you've succeeded."


Find a full database of support groups and services, for you and your grandkids at AARP.org/grandparents. There you'll find state fact sheets for local support groups, legal assistance, public benefits, and state laws.

From grandparents.com

Public Assistance for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Find Out About Public Assistance

Go to AARP.org/grandparents and click on the Benefits QuickLINK box for a benefits eligibility screening that includes information about free health care (offered in most states) and Medicaid. And, don't be ashamed to ask for help, says Opal Buford, who co-founded Grandfamilies with Pat. "Doctors, lawyers — this can happen to anyone, and very few are financially prepared for it."

From grandparents.com

What Your House Can Handle

Know What Your House Can Handle

If you live in senior or subsidized housing and are concerned about whether children are allowed, seek legal advice. There is a lot of confusion and misinformation regarding what constitutes a "family" and who is allowed in certain types of housing, says AARP's Biscarr.

If your current home needs more space, you may be eligible for Housing and Urban Development Home Improvement loan programs listed at Hud.gov. Generations United also has information specifically related to housing at Gu.org.

From grandparents.com

Enroll Your Grandchild in School

Enroll Your Grandchild in School  - Tip 2

Here's where the legal help comes into play. In some states, you'll need legal custody to enroll your grandchild; in others, you simply need proof that the child is living with you.

And, don't let your involvement end at the dotted line. Go beyond paperwork, by talking to teachers, principals, and counselors about your family. Although her 14-year-old grandson "about threw a fit" when she showed up at school with cookies last year, grandmother Piretta Patterson says doing so put a face on her family. "I know if I show up at that school and they see and know my situation, they will call me when something happens," says Piretta, who still volunteers with the school system. "Again, you just have to say, 'This is my situation. I need your help here.'"

From: grandparents.com