Grandparents as Parents, First Edition: A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family

This is a great resource for those who find themselves with a grandchild in their home. You can read it cover to cover or just look up what you need. You can find help and resources for the child that you may never have known was available to them, like 'kinship benefits' to help ease the burden of raising your child's child when your income's no longer what it was. If you are considering helping your grandchildren in this way, you will need this book.

Written by a therapist who has personal involvement with grandparents raising grandchildren and who has organized support groups for such, this book provides a thought-provoking look at a growing phenomenon. De Toledo dicsusses how these family units are created and identifies the needs of the individuals involved. She continues by describing the legal, governmental, educational and social welfare implications of such arrangements and encourages strong support sytems. Making this even more relevant is de Toledo's generous use of anecdotes and grandparents' own words. The book concludes with appendices of resources for grandparent caregivers and conversation topics for support groups. A bibliography and index are also provided. The book is available in both hardback and paper editions. As a grandparent who is raising three grandchildren, this reviewer found this book to be credible, insightful and informative.