The Impact of Grand parenting on Adult Development and the Counselor’s Role in Support  Introduction Grand parenting i

The Impact of Grand parenting on Adult Development and the Counselor’s Role in Support

 Introduction

Grand parenting is one of the most effective ways of giving a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment in the later years of life. But in cases when the grandparents are suddenly brought into primary guardianship this can have a serious consequence on the normal development of adult grandparents. They are not able to spend time and energy with retirement, social leisure and health maintenance but instead have to spend time and energy on parenting issues. This may result in a higher toll, physical, and emotional in exhausting stress when they have to care and address the changes of aging work alongside managing the changes of aging (Hayslip et al., 2019). In addition, deprivation of the expected freedom and financial difficulties could cause grief or resentment, which affects the general well-being.

Because of developmental aspect, care giving will slow down or change psychosocial work which is common to late adulthood e.g. self-reflection and life review. Nevertheless, negative consequences, including newfound mission and easy relationship with the generation gap, could also emerge as a result of the role. To support these older guardians, counselors are very important as they facilitate these parents to develop coping strategies, reduce stress levels, and access supportive community resources. Strength-based counseling and leadership of a support group are the technics that could be used to strengthen resilience and self-efficacy. The grandparents may also receive educating about child development and trauma-informed care to achieve healthier families by the counselor (Grinstead et al., 2017).

Generally speaking, the process of transition to guardianship can interfere with normal development in adults, although with proper help and counseling services, the grandparents will be able to gain some sense and balance in the new position.

References

Grinstead, L. N., & Leder, S. (2017). Review of grandparent caregivers: Characteristics and challenges. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 15(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2017.1260359

Hayslip, B., Fruhauf, C. A., & Dolbin-MacNab, M. L. (2019). Grandparents raising grandchildren: What have we learned over the past decade? The Gerontologist, 59(3), e152–e163. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gny028