Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Grandparent Caregivers Memo
Grandparent Caregivers Memo
MEMO
To: All Employees
The Issue
Seven million grandparents and their grandchildren shared a home in 2011. The number
of grandparents has risen significantly during the recession and is now beginning to level off, just
as the number of co-resident grandchildren. The number of grandparents who provide main care
for their grandchildren exceeds 2.7 million. Grandparents or other relatives taking care of a child
can result in significant life adjustments. It can be emotionally taxing, legally complex, and
additional counseling. Getting in touch with other parents who are dealing with the same issues
Development Needs
Grandparent caregivers play an important role in the lives of grandchildren. Some of the
developmental needs include giving advice to the young ones that help in their growth and
development. Secondly, grand parents teach the grandchildren through the enthusiasm they bring
to them that helps in children growth. Grandparents also offer regular and child care, with most
of them being primary caregivers. Lastly, grandparents offer unconditional love, interaction, and
attention, and this makes the child feel secure. This helps in healthy brain development.
Concerns
2
As a result of rising divorce rates, an increase in single parent families, the death of
parents, and the AIDS pandemic, grandparents are left to raise the children of incarcerated or
mentally ill parents. Become a caregiver might elicit strong emotions such as contempt, anger,
sadness, and even guilt. This becomes so challenging for them especially considering their old
age.
Proposed Action(s)
recommend that grandparent caregivers should negotiate availability, be comfortable with the
type of care they are providing, always have an emergency information at hand, and take care of
themselves as well.