The Four Topics of Grandparental Parenting

I get a lot of private comments via email, even if I don't have a strong readership. That's OK. I'm not out here to make a big splash for myself. I am here to help relatives, especially grandparents, with a a sad situation that occurs too often in the United States, that of parenting grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc., whether for a short time of the long haul. 

Toward that end, there seem to be four consistent topics that pop up every time:

• How to get and keep custody of such children.
• How to pay for the upkeep of such children.
• How to function daily to raise such children, especially with the problems of aging, such as lower energy and physical imparity.
• Contact with the absent parent, especially when that parent has either been abusive or obnoxious to the caregiving relative.

Those are the four topics I shall cover at this point. If I have to delve off into my own extended family, I shall do so only on rare occasion and out of necessity. They really need no further attention.