Grandparents raising grandchildren want to keep their grandchildren safe, but with all the dangers in today’s world that’s getting harder to do. A big concern for many grandparents is drugs. While it’s best to stop your grandchildren from doing drugs before they start, there are things you can do if you suspect a problem.
If you suspect your grandchild is doing drugs, talk to them. And I mean, just talk; no yelling, screaming or accusations. Prepare what you’re going to say ahead of time so you don’t say something you didn’t intend to. Tell them you suspect they’re taking drugs and cite your reasoning. Give specific, documented examples of behavioral changes. Explain that you’re just trying to help them, but if they don’t tell you what’s going on with them, you’re going to have to take further steps. But be careful, what you perceive as drug use could just be caused by problems at school, problems with friends, or even depression.
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An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. In 1954, he received his PhD and accepted a position as a pastor of a Baptist church in Alabama.
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An area of particular concern today is safety on the Internet. Sending emails and instant messages along with surfing the web and participating on social media sites such as MySpace, have been a way of life for many children and teenagers. Unfortunately, children are subject to the lure of Internet predators and are at great risk of falling into their trap.
Internet safety is a concern that is new to this day and age, and one that was non-existent when parents were raising their children 25 or more years ago. As grandparents raising grandchildren, there are several strategies you can implement to help keep your grandchildren safe from on-line predators: read more…
Happy New Year! This is the last blog post for 2009, and I am looking forward to a wonderful 2010!
The New Year celebration is a time of reflection of days past, and to make changes for the days ahead. The New Year’s holiday and tradition means many things to different people. It may mean a fresh start in life, a time to set goals or resolutions for the future, clearing out the clutter, quitting bad habits, or a beginning to daily affirmations and gratitude.
Whatever your goals are for 2010, take this opportunity to make plans to take care of yourself so that your home with your grandchildren is filled with peace, love, joy, wellness and harmony. Here are 10 tips to help you make that happen:
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As we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the holiday activities, changes in weather, finances and the cold and flu season, to name a few. This time of year brings on a lot of stress in families, particularly with grandparents who are raising grandchildren. It is also a time when people begin thinking about their New Year’s Resolutions and their goals for the future.
Are you struggling with your goals? Have you put your goals on the back burner to take care of family matters? Or are you trying to accomplish your goals but are doing it on your own? I must tell you that, even though people say they want to do things on their own, this is not always the best solution.
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As we are in the midst of the holiday season, traditions often come to mind as we think of celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. and Christmas all over the world. As our children were growing up, we had many traditions; however, when they grew up and moved away to start their own families, we broke some of the traditions we had due to distance. My husband and I began a few of our own.
Now that we are back in Arizona with our family and our grandson is living with us now, we are thinking about traditions that we can begin with him as well as our other grandchildren. However, traditions don’t have to be limited to just the end of the year holidays.
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As a grandparent raising grandchildren, do you ever feel alone and that there is no one that understands the challenges you face? Do you feel disconnected from the world because your friends and even some of your family members don’t understand why you are raising your grandchildren? Would you like the opportunity to share your experiences and learn from others who are doing the same thing? If so, you are not alone.
There are millions of others in your shoes at varying degrees. Some of you have used up your entire life savings to fight for your grandparent rights. Some of you are not only raising your grandchildren, but are taking care of elderly and/or ailing parents. Some of you are also raising your own children, or supporting your adult children, and may have as many as 4 generations living in your household. Some of you are divorced or widowed and are doing it all on your own.
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The countdown to Halloween is over now; and the costume is hanging up for another day when our grandson wants to play Star Wars in his Clone Trooper outfit. The main focus of Halloween (aside from the children’s dreams of getting the mother lode of candy), is pretending to be someone they can’t be on any other given day. But, does it have to be that way?
Growing up as a child, I remember how much fun it was to dress up in my Mom’s clothes and shoes. She had a pair of white patent leather high heel shoes that I loved to wear with her dresses. She also had a few wigs that she stopped wearing and some jewelry that added to my attire.
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An article in The New Zealand Herald today reported that one in every seven marriages, of grandparents who are raising grandchildren, ends in divorce. This was reported from a survey of 205 members of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust. This is an astounding number since some of these couples have been married over 35 years. According to the article (October 29, 2009):
“The survey found that children came into their grandparents’ care because their parents were drug addicts (42 per cent), neglectful (37 per cent), alcoholics (26 per cent), or suffered domestic violence (25 per cent), mental illness (23 per cent) or other problems such as imprisonment, physical illness or prostitution or poverty.”
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