I AM A fairly new grandparent. I could not have imagined how much joy and fun this would bring. I have again become immersed in buying children’s books and toys with the happy thought that I could read to and play with Luke, aged six and Lara aged two (or, as she insists, two and a half).
When my husband and I stay with them, they love to crawl into bed with us in the morning for long relaxed cups of milk and lots of stories.
This experience of grandparenting contrasts with that of other grandparents who are the sole carers of their grandchildren. In my role of chair of a drugs organisation, I meet grandparents (usually grandmothers) who have taken on, out of love and necessity, the care of grandchildren because their own son or daughter has been imprisoned or has died from a drug overdose or is incapable of looking after children due to an addiction.
These grandparents need all the help and support they can get from social, health and education services, from friends and from organisations involved with grandparents. One such grandparent said, ‘I feel lonely and unsupported. I am filling in forms for maintenance when I want to be reading stories to my grandson.’
Grandparenting should be full of enjoyment. I wish it were so for everyone.
Lady Doreen Massey is a former teacher and community playgroup organiser. She is now a Labour peer, speaking mainly on children and young people’s issues. She is also a Lady Taverner, raising funds for disabled children to get involved in sport and Chair of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. She has three grown up children.