Grandparent engagement is likely going to increase, given demographic trends. Longer life expectancy and changing family structures have expanded grandparents' roles in their grandchildren's lives. More grandparents are actively engaged in efforts to maintain or improve their grandchildren's well-being.

Demographic Trends Elevate Grandparents' Roles

By 2019, one in eight children in the U.S. lived with a grandparent. About 2.7 million children are in skip-generation households, which have grandparents and grandchildren but no parents.

Black children are twice as likely to be in such households than other groups. However, since 2000, white children are also entering skip-generation households at increasing rates due to the opioid drug crisis.

Society in Crisis as Schools Reach Breaking Point

Through our work with dyslexia and learning disabilities, we encounter communities where the opioid epidemic, economic depression and weakening family structures all collide to put the next generation at risk.

In previous generations, the public school system offered some respite from these pressures. Schools also provided environments that supported language and learning development when these were lacking at home. But now, due to new challenges with funding, increasing incidence of special needs and teacher shortage, schools themselves are at a "breaking point."

We have heard the phrase "breaking point" echoed repeatedly in various corners of the country in our communication with school administrators. If schools are at the breaking point, even fewer resources are left to take care of children.

Therefore grandparents become increasingly important resources for closing the chasm.

Post-Pandemic Effect on Language Development

The pandemic worsened these societal crises. During the COVID years, 4 out of 10 children faced at least one adverse experience in their families, such as economic hardship, divorce or incarceration (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021).

Given the stresses on family structures, not only are increasing numbers of children living with their grandparents but also nearly half of them are under the age of 6. Grandparents now perform a vital role in their early language development.

The task is made harder because of the pandemic's disruption of home and school life. Research is now emerging that children aged 0-6 years during the pandemic are lagging behind in language reception and expression.

Pandemic babies scored lower in vocabulary development even at age 2 and beyond. They did not recognize words that are typically familiar to toddlers. Thus, one noticeable effect of the COVID years is the rise of language and learning disabilities.

Grandparent Support of Children with Disabilities

Vicki Bozarth in Arizona took on the primary responsibility of homeschooling her three grandchildren with learning problems. They were in grades 2, 3 and 6 during the pandemic.

With her background in Speech and Language Pathology, Vicki was more discriminating than most in selecting intervention programs for her grandchildren. She could tell that the Dysolve AI program was different because its activities "got progressively harder," to challenge her grandchildren to overcome their learning difficulties.

She structured their daily routine to include 20 minutes of engagement with the Dysolve AI program, usually 5 days a week.

"I try to encourage them when they are struggling and remind them that nothing happens right away--success takes time and effort and that I am proud of the work they put in," said Vicki.

Vicki's case illustrates the benefits of having a supportive, proactive grandparent in the children's education. Grandparents can serve as the secondary or even primary teacher and provide the structure, discipline and moral support that children need.

Grandparents who reach out to us show more than just concern about the future of their grandchildren with disabilities. Many advocate for their grandchildren's educational rights.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates schools to provide free and appropriate education for children with disabilities. Yet navigating the school system to claim these rights for children with special needs is no easy task. It takes a lot of groundwork research and education on parental and students' rights.

Filling the Financial Gap

Over a third of children live in single-parent households, with more than 80% headed by single moms. Regardless of whether they live with their grandparents or not, the latter can serve significant roles.

One is financial support. Households headed by parents younger than 35 have a median net worth of under $40,000 while those headed by grandparents between 55-64 have a median net worth of over $360,000.

Not surprisingly, therefore, about half the Dysolve queries from grandparents include their offer to pay for their grandchildren's program.

These queries also signal a deep concern for their grandchildren's present and future well-being. Grandparents are assuming this responsibility as young parents themselves are occupied with providing for their families.

Problems Facing Custodial Grandparents

Some grandparents who are supporting their grandchildren also need support themselves. Grandparents with grandchildren living with them experience higher rates of food insecurity. About 50% of such households are at or marginally above poverty, as opposed to just 22% in general.

Thus assuming the role of "parent" for their grandchildren sometimes creates financial stresses that not all grandparents can manage. Reports indicate that grandparents have a harder time navigating and obtaining public assistance.

Age, health problems, social and physical isolation create unique challenges for grandparents as caregivers. Yet sometimes, circumstances require some grandparents to deliver round-the-clock caregiving.

Demographic trends are shifting them from respite grandparents to custodial grandparents. Respite grandparents take on caregiving duties for short breaks. Custodial grandparents do it round the clock.

Changing Attitudes in Research towards Grandparents' Influence

To provide the necessary safety net for skip-generation households and custodial grandparents, we need sufficient research to inform policy. But this is a neglected area of study in family science and gerontology. So far, there are only pilot investigations on small samples.

The attitude towards grandparents' role in their grandchildren's well-being is also changing. In the 1930s, the research was done by clinicians and psychiatrists, who viewed grandparents as influencing child development negatively by being too strict or lenient.

In the 1960s, the view of grandparents shifted, seeing them as sources of fun and traditional wisdom. Now, with the focus on women's empowerment and employment, attitudes are changing yet again.

Regardless, the growing significance of grandparents in the lives of young children is unprecedented in this country and warrants research and policy attention sooner rather than later.

About the author

Dr. Coral PS Hoh is a clinical linguist with 30 years of fieldwork on language disorders of exceptional populations. She has published and refereed for premier publishers, e.g., MIT Press. Her work was funded by the National Science Foundation and presented at international conferences and to medical groups. She served on an editorial board of the National Association for Gifted Children and co-authored Dyslexia Dissolved: Successful Cases with Learning Disabilities, ADHD and Language Disorders. She is the architect of the Dysolve® AI system and co-inventor of U.S. and international patents for AI technologies for language disorders.