60 million U.S. adults are grandparents, representing one-third of the adult U.S. population. These grandparents are being called upon more and more to raise their grandchildren. Nearly 5 million children in America are being raised by Grandma and Grandpa. That’s 1 in every 10  under the age of 18. This number is growing dramatically, having increased by 76 percent between 1970 and 1997!

The Causes

• Nearly half (44 percent in 1998) of the youngsters cared for by grandparents are there because of their parent’s drug and/or alcohol abuse.
• 28 percent live with grandparents because of child abuse, neglect or abandonment.
• 11 percent because of the death of a parent or parents.
• 4 percent of the children stay with grandparents because of divorce of the natural parents.
• Many children live with their grandparents for other reasons, such as illness of a parent or because the real parent is jailed, hospitalized or institutionalized.

The Children

Grandparents are being called upon to raise grandchildren of all ages.

• 51 percent are preschoolers or under six years old.
• 29 percent – ages 6 through 11 – attend elementary school.
• 20 percent – ages 12 to 17.
• Of the children living in grandparent-maintained families in 1998, 1.7 million (43.6%) were white; 1.4 million (35.9%) were black; and 701,000 (18%) were Hispanic.

The Grandparents

• 11 percent of grandparents over 50 are caregivers.   Specifically:
• 8 percent are providing day care on a regular basis
• 3 percent are raising a grandchild.
• 15 percent of grandmothers and 21 percent of grandfathers were 65 years of age or older
• 72 percent of grandfathers and 56 percent of grandmothers were employed in 1996
• 36 percent were in very good or excellent health

The Problems

• Women who care for grandchildren have a 55 percent greater risk of heart disease.
• 41 percent of the caregivers in America have children too. Part of the “sandwich generation,” many woman will spend more years caring for a parent or grandchild than they did raising their own child.
• More than 28 percent of grandmothers and 4 percent of grandfathers caring for their grandchildren do so without the help of a spouse.
• Nearly two-thirds of caregiving grandparents (64 percent) do so without public assistance.
• More than half (57 percent) of grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren alone have incomes below the poverty level.
• More than half of caregiving grandparents work and need day care.
• Caregiving also takes an emotional toll on grandparents. There can be shame and guilt over the failure of their children to carry out their parenting responsibilities. These emotions often are mixed with resentment, betrayal, anger, grief, and fear of the future, not only for themselves but for their grandchildren.
• Grandparents can become frustrated at today’s child-raising philosophies which differ from their own approaches.
• More than one-third of all caregiving grandparents did not graduate from high school, making a youngster’s daily homework assignments or special school projects a source of frustration.
• Being the primary caregiver for grandchildren is not the way most grandparents plan to spend their retirement.