PREBLE COUNTY — Although it is not the ideal situation, some grandparents are put in the position of raising their grandchildren because the parents of those children are not in a position to raise their own kids. The reasons vary from financial circumstances, to being an unsafe environment in the parent’s home possibly due to drug abuse. Whatever the case may be, more grandparents than ever are stepping up to the plate to raise their grandchildren.
Across the United States, more than 13 million children are living in homes with their grandparents.
This means that 2.5 million grandparents every day are taking on the responsibilities required to raise these children. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other relatives in the picture that are providing support, but there are 1 million kids today that have their grandparents as their sole parental influences while growing up.
• Only 150,000 kids are being raised by their grandfather as the sole parental influence in their life at this moment.
• 55 percent of grandmothers who are maintaining a household to support their grandchildren are under the age of 55.
• Two-thirds of families that are maintained by at least one grandparent also includes at least one of the parents of the grandchild.
• 2.7 million grandparents are raising grandchildren.
Although the idea of having grandparents raising a child is somewhat charming in some ways, it is a difficult venture for the entire community. The average income for a home with grandparents raising grandchildren is less than $20K when only the grandmother is present, which is 1 million of the households where grandparents are raising children. The one advantage is that most grandparents own their home, which means there is a stable environment for children to be raised. These families that have a grandparent involved daily make up 7 percent of the total households in the US with kids under the age of 18.
One of the resources that the Preble County Council on Aging is offering is a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) resource group. This is held in an environment with friendly ears, kind hearts, and non-judgement. This support network includes questions and answers, with speakers brought in as needed to answer those ‘bigger’ questions. Join us on the Fridays, July 20, or Aug. 17. We meet at 1 p.m. at the Senior Activities Center. Snacks are provided, and if you need childcare, let us know ahead of time, and we will arrange it for you. 937-456-4947.
Source: https://brandongaille.com/21-statistics-on-grandparents-raising-grandchildren/
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