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As a Sandwich Generation senior home care giver and grandmother, I am blessed with lots of fun grandkid time with each of my grandkids. I do a lot of babysitting, caregiving, and just plain having fun. They occasionally spend the night, but that's about it.
For many Sandwich Generation grandparents, however, that's not the case. There are plenty out there who have full or partial guardianship of their grandkids – whether officially or unofficially. Hero's Ransom, the book I reviewed last week, brought up an interesting point that I wanted to explore a bit further. Briefly, so as not to give away any of the plot, the grandmother found herself in some murky water due to insufficient documentation as her grandkid's guardian.
That's really easy to do – for any and all of us. Life is unexpected. Everything can be hunky dory one minute and upside down the next. A parent dies, develops a terminal illness, or just takes off unexpectedly, and in the blink of an eye a grandparent can be left to carry on with the grandkid without any legal protection for the grandchild or the grandparent. Depending on the state you live in, without those vital documents, your grandkids might not be able to go to the doctor's, start a new school, or get to stay with you!
It's so important for each of us to stop and think through now, while everything is ok, what do we need to have set up to protect everyone. Hopefully each of our adult kids has a will, along with a designation of guardianship for the grandkids – whether to the grandparents or to someone else, with provision for the grandparents to get to visit. It's also a good idea to have an emergency release form giving doctors permission to treat the grandkids when the parents aren't there, and naming grandparents as temporary guardians in charge of the grandkids – with long expiration dates. Trust me, it's worth reading Hero's Ransom, just to light some fires under our grandparent bonnets. 🙂
For further information, ideas, and assistance with this vital grandkid issue, check out what AARP has to say about it. They have some excellent info and more good links just for you. 🙂 And be sure to sign up for the FREE SandwichINK email for more resources for Sandwich Generation senior home care givers and grandparents.
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RT @SandwichINK: New at SandwichINK:: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Need Consent Forms + http://bit.ly/bAsfw7
RT @SandwichINK: New at SandwichINK:: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Need Consent Forms + http://bit.ly/bAsfw7
New at SandwichINK:: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Need Consent Forms + http://bit.ly/bAsfw7
I have 2 grandchildren whom I am raising. They are 10 and 11 years old, boy and girl. They are getting to the age where they are becoming rebellious. They also have a lot of anger issues concerning their parents, especially their mother. Sometimes I do not know how to handling them. I need some advice or help. Thanks, Linda Griffin.
Hi Linda, That is such a blessing for them, but I know it’s so hard for you. You’re in my prayers! My grandkids don’t live with me but I do spend a lot of time with half of them. Some of my primary things are – Pray – LOTS; make sure I’m staying close with the Lord through daily Bible study and prayer – I see how vital that is when I miss it! ; Keep my grandkids busy – whoever said “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” definitely knew what he was talking about! We stay busy with fun, interesting, educational, and often spiritual activities for grandparents and their grandchildren – from reading out loud to crafts to playing games like Gobblet and more. I also make sure they get good exercise and I join in the fun with regular games of tag, hide n seek, etc. I do utilize TV and computers with a mega focus on educational and spiritual values. They stay very involved at church and I help with this when I can – from weekly church and Sunday School to sports through the Upward program to Awana Bible Memory Verses activities to junior high youth for the older grandkids! Combine all of these with school and they definitely keep busy. Then as problems arise, we spend time talking about them and praying about them from a Godly perspective. This is not to say it’s easy coz it definitely is NOT! They aren’t perfect, of course, and I DEFINITELY am not! But it does make a positive difference. And then, I’m back to praying again! A lot! 🙂 I hope and pray this helps and invite others to share suggestions and ideas as well. I’ll also do some research and plan an article in the upcoming weeks with some of my favorite books that might help. God bless you with His peace, His patience and His encouragement!