Grandma in Charge

When Grandparents Care for Kids

By C.J. Johnson

Grandma is doing a lot more than baking cookies these days. After raising her own children, she is stepping in and caring for grandchildren while their parents work. In the process, she is helping forge bridges between generations and strengthening family bonds.

Grandparents caring for young children is an increasing trend in the United States. Not only does this arrangement seem like a natural solution to daycare, it also suits many members of the family for financial and emotional reasons.

Dr. Janiece Pompa has seen many different family arrangements in her years as a psychologist at the University of Utah. She believes grandparents caring for their grandchildren can be a positive situation for everyone involved.

"Having grandparents care for their grandchildren can help form a wonderful bond between generations," Dr. Pompa says. "A child's development and sense of security is enhanced by having as many positive, caring relatives and adults in their life as possible."

Dr. Julia Pezzi, a child psychologist in Kentucky, also understands the benefits of this arrangement.

"These parents have first-hand experience with the grandparents' parenting style," she says. "This allows them to be comfortable with the grandparents handling challenging situations with the grandchildren."

Dr. Pezzi also acknowledges one huge benefit of having grandparents in charge: "No one is going to feel that unconditional love that a grandparent feels for the children, and the grandchildren know it."

Brett Sember's grandparents provided daycare for her when she was a child. Because of that, she still has a very close relationship with them. Sember, a mother of two living in Clarence, N.Y., chose to continue the tradition.

"When my children were infants, I could not conceive of leaving them with strangers," she says. "My mom took a sabbatical when my first was born and has continued to care for them at least one day a week."

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• Selecting Quality Child Care
• Preschool/Daycare Checklist
• Do Time-Outs Work for Toddlers?
• Talk About It!