Why are Baby Boomers Raising Grandchildren?

Grandparents have always been a great source for watching over grandchildren while the parents were working or taking a respite from their responsibilities as parents. Grandparents, by census reports, have increasingly become the solely responsible parties in raising grandchildren.

The children of the baby boomers live in a more stressful, transient, and much more unstable existences. There are more divorces and broken homes for their grandchildren. Promotion of earlier sexual freedom among these children has given way to single parents trying to juggle careers, children and personal entertainment. Drug addiction, AIDS and other diseases take away the ability for parenthood among these children of the baby boomers. Deaths of parents and parents being put in jail are also increasingly common. These are all growing conditions that have created the need for grandparents to take their grandchildren into their care. Grandparents are being asked to step back into the parenthood role.

Care must be taken by the baby boomers to preserve their own physical and mental health by their own respites, health care and social activities. Legal advice is mandatory for all grandparents taking over their children's parenthood. Selecting and coordinating the legal status of the grandchildren will affect the grandparents’ ability to provide the highest standard of life and future for their grandchildren possible. This legal advice is more available in urban areas where the need is greatest, but usually also available in rural areas, even though possibly at a farther distance from home.