Grandfamilies

"In the United States, slightly more than 7 million grandparents lived with at least one grandchild under age 18 in the same household during 2010. One in 10 American children (a total of 7.5 million children) was living in a household with at least one grandparent," write Divya Saxena and Sean Brotherson of North Dakota State University in an online article.

"Such family settings may range from multiple generations sharing a home together to a widowed grandmother raising a granddaughter," they explain. "In particular, however, 2.7 million grandparents carried the primary responsibility of caring for their grandchildren and meeting their basic needs, representing nearly 40 percent of grandparents who reside with a grandchild (data from U.S. Census, 2010).

These families headed by a grandparent often are called 'grandfamilies,' and they are common among families in which a relative has taken over primary responsibility for raising a child from parents (known as 'kinship care')."

Source: “When Grandparents Become Parents to their Grandchildren,” by Divya Saxena and Sean Brotherson, www.ndsu.edu

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