4000 kids raised by grandparents
Years of working with families could not prepare Sharon Reynolds for raising her 6-month-old granddaughter.
She and her husband, Craig, were taking care of their own young children at the time, then aged 5 and 6, worked full time and were learning to help their son manage his Asperger’s syndrome.
So the question of adding a baby to the mix was tough.
‘‘It’s not just as easy as saying ‘you need to take this child because you’re the grandparent’ . . . as much as you love them and you want to. It’s not always that simple.’’
But they found a way and, six and a half years later, feel ‘‘blessed’’. Maddisson has grown into a ‘‘delightful wee girl who lights up the room wherever she goes’’.
The Christchurch youngster’s story could have been different as she navigated life with 70 per cent deafness – her hearing issues discovered when she was a toddler.
The Reynolds are part of a network of 4000 families in New Zealand, and 277 in Canterbury, where a child is being raised by their grandparents. The group has grown by more than 1000 in the past five years.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) is the charity behind that network and this year it revealed methamphetamine was the main drug leading to growing numbers of grandchildren being in their grandparents’ care.
Reynolds cautioned that each case was unique. Her daughter, Maddisson’s mother, was not negligent, nor abusive, nor addicted to drugs. The 2010 Canterbury earthquake reignited Maddisson’s
mother’s adolescent mental health issues. Coupled with a relationship breakdown and Maddisson’s traumatic birth – an emergency caesarean section – her health deteriorated further and she was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
‘‘It wasn’t her fault,’’ Reynolds said.
‘‘You can come from the best family, but life is what it is and it
takes turns and twists that no-one can foresee.’’
Maddisson’s mother kept in regular contact, sending gifts and visiting to stay part of her daughter’s life.
The Reynolds’ situation is an example of why grandparents raising the next generation need all the support they can get.
GRG chief executive Kate Bundle said 41 per cent of the children in their network had been diagnosed with a psychological disorder.
‘‘That’s mostly due to past trauma . . . A lot of people think ‘great, these kids get to live with their grandparents and it’s all hunkydory’.
‘‘What they don’t understand or appreciate are the circumstances under which these children are going into grandparent care.’’
GRG’s network had grown by about a quarter over the past five years. It now included more than
4000 families nationwide. Between
10,000 and 12,000 children were likely being raised by their grandparents in New Zealand, excluding those outside of GRG.
Ministry of Social Development figures show the number of people receiving an Unsupported Child’s Benefit – the funding available to grandparents – has grown by nearly
2000 to 10,638 in the five years to December.
The previous Government raised the base rate for that benefit to be equivalent to what foster parents could get, Bundle said.
Reynolds said it was a ‘‘sad indictment’’ on society that the numbers had grown so quickly.
Bundle said she ‘‘wholeheartedly’’ shared that view. It pointed to a ‘‘really scary’’ future, she said. ‘‘When you consider that the majority of members are raising their grandchildren because of methamphetamine, those parents who’ve been meth addicts are effectively going to be the grandparents of the future.’’
Kiwi actor Bruce Hopkins, known for his role of Gamling in the Lord of
the Rings, is tramping Te Araroa Trail, walking 3000km over five months from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island, with the goal of raising $50,000 for GRG.