Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

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1. What are some of the reasons why grandparents raise their grandchildren? Provide examples from the story and support from the textbook.
Grandparents may raise their grandchildren due to personal family issues. A grandparent’s child may be incarcerated, dead or gravely ill, a teenage parent, or unemployed. A couple in episode 5 of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren are raising their 2 grandchildren because their daughter dropped off her children and left. Although the story failed to specify why the mother abandoned her children with her parents one can assume it was because she did not want to or could not take care of her children. The book Lifespan development describes that grandparents, “generally step in when parent’s troubled lives,” jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of the grandchild (Berk 435).
2. Why do you think so many grandparents feel responsible for raising their grandchildren? Provide examples from the story and support from the textbook. …show more content…

The grandchild serves as a “second opportunity” to raise a child into a better person with a brighter future (Berk 435). The couple in episode 5 of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren believe their grandchildren will eventually “grow up well.” The grandmother raising her grandchildren hopes her daughter will someday take responsibility and come back for her children. She obviously feels that her grandchildren’s parents are not fulfilling their obligation. By raising her grandchildren, she is granted another chance to raise children who she can instill the values of responsibility.
3. In what ways does a grandparent raising a grandchild impact the grandparent's social and emotional development/functioning? Which psychosocial stage (hint: Erikson!) is relevant to this discussion? Provide examples from the story and support from the

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