Purdue News
November 1997
More grandparents take on role as 'parents' to grandchildren
As more grandparents become primary caregivers for their grandchildren, their expanded
roles bring both joy and issues to overcome. For many, raising their grandchildren
keeps them young and active and gives them a great deal of satisfaction, says Dena
Targ, Purdue University Extension specialist in human development. However, there are
obstacles to contend with, not the least of which are the reasons the children are
living with the grandparents: divorce, unemployment, neglect, abandonment, teen-age
pregnancy or death of the parents. "A combination of social and economic problems in the
last decade has made it more difficult for parents to carry out their parental responsibilities,"
Targ says. While it's nothing new, Targ says more grandparents are raising their grandchildren. According to 1990 census data, 2.3 million children in the United
States under age 18 -- or 3.6 percent -- lived with their grandparents. By 1993, those
figures had risen to 3.4 million, or 5 percent. (To retrieve a news release on this
topic, send an e-mail message that says "send punews 9709a25" to almanac@ecn.purdue.edu
or visit the PurdueNews Web site at https://www.purdue.edu/uns) CONTACT: Targ, (765)
494-2937; e-mail, targd@cfs.purdue.edu
Compiled by Beth Forbes, (765) 494-9723; e-mail, beth_forbes@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
To the Purdue News and Photos Page