GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN

Bill Cosby is a very talented entertainer; few of us would take issue with that. Several years ago, during  one of his television appearances, the topic of conversation moved to grandchildren. Mr. Cosby stated how much he enjoyed being around his own grandchildren. In fact, he added, the reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is because they share a common enemy.

While that's a funny comment, there's no question a special relationship does exist between grandparents and grandchildren. For some grandparents the relationship runs even deeper. About one in 14 children in this country lives in a household headed by their grandparents, more than double the number from 1970.

These statistics are mirrored by some clients at the Senior Center and Parenting the Second Time Around, a support group which meets there. It is not unusual to see grandparents raising grandchildren when parents are unable to do so due to substance abuse, incarceration, death, mental illness, or child neglect. Often a grandparent will take in a grandchild to prevent the child from being placed in foster care, and state welfare agencies are more frequently seeking out grandparents to raise children whose parents could no longer do so.

There are a number of resources available for grandparents who are raising grandchildren. The Parent Education Network has an excellent 30-page publication, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, designed for Wyoming residents and available at the Senior Center. The web site raisingyourgrandchildren.com provides information on legal and financial issues and where to find help at the local and state levels. And the web site aarp.org has a "Home and Family" section that includes a special Grand Facts sheet full of help for grandparents raising children. In Casper you can contact Parenting the Second Time Around by calling the Senior Center at 265-4678.

Grandparents Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. This year Grandparents Day is Sunday, September 7 and it's a particularly good time to recognize and appreciate those grandparents who are raising children for the second time. With apologies to Mr. Cosby, grandparents and grandchildren may share a common enemy, but they also share a special bond of love. Grandparents who raise grandchildren are among the unsung heroes of our communities.