Human Development An estimated one in 10 grandparents in the U.S. will have the primary care for their grandchildren at some point in time. This care will last an average of two years. At the current time, one in 20 children live with their grandparents, with no parent present in the home. In addition, millions of grandparents care for their grandchildren while parents are working or involved in other activities. Researchers have found children raised by grandparents are statistically at higher risk for emotional and developmental disorders, as well as for academic problems and failure, than are children raised by two parents.
Children often feel rejected or abandoned.
At the same time, grandparents feel stress related to caregiving and financial obligations. According to aging specialist Mary Brintnall-Peterson, University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, many school districts are beginning to realize the problems experienced by grandparents raising grandchildren. Helping children adjust to a new school, something that often accompanies the move to a grandparent's home. Providing social support groups for children being raised by their grandparents. The findings of a recent study by the Gerontology Institute and Center College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts show that many grandparents raising grandchildren need a great deal from their communities and schools.