GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018 - 22

grand families

Help for grandkids who've experienced trauma
BY JAIA PETERSON LENT
"One thing I have noticed is that most people go to grandma's house and get spoiled, but for me it was the only safe place
I had. Getting to live with grandma was like going to 'grandma's
house' all the time. I had more love there than anywhere else in
my life." - Chad Dingle, raised by grandmother.
More than 2.5 million grandparents are raising grandchildren across the U.S. Like Chad, the vast majority of the children
come into their grandparents care after experiencing trauma.
Trauma results when a baby, child or youth is exposed to multiple

harmful events such as child abuse or neglect, the death of a
parent, or living with a parent who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. In short, trauma happens when the person who was supposed to be caring for and protecting you as a child, fails to make
you feel safe.
Research shows that children who have experienced violence
or other trauma are more likely to have anxiety, depression, and
behavioral problems. Without intervention those children are 12
times more likely than those without significant trauma to have

Trauma happens when the person
who was supposed to be caring for
and protecting you as a child, fails to
make you feel safe.

serious negative health outcomes in adulthood such as cancer or
ischemic heart disease.
And the impact of trauma starts at a very young age. In
babies and children, exposure to violence or other traumatic
experiences often results in screaming, fear of adults, sadness,
irritability, sleep problems or acting withdrawn.
When it became clear that her grandchildren were not safe
with their parents, grandparent caregiver Delia Martinez began
caring for her grandchildren. They were 6 months, 1 ½ and 2 ½
years old. "I thought because my grandkids were babies they
were not going to have any problems. Boy was I wrong!" Delia
explains, "They had problems with separation anxiety; it was so
painful to see them go through this. I had to tell them a hundred
times a day how much I loved them and was never going to
leave them."

Continue to read

Click here for resources
to help relatives raising grandkids
who have experienced trauma
22 GRAND

JANUARY FEBRUARY 2018

Jaia Peterson Lent is Deputy Executive Director
of Generations United, a national organization
dedicated to improving lives. Home to the
National Center on Grandfamilies, Generations
United is a leading voice for issues affecting
families headed by grandparents or other
relatives.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine http://www.grandmagazine.com/2017/12/helping-grandchildren-experienced-trauma/ http://www.grandmagazine.com/2017/12/helping-grandchildren-experienced-trauma/ http://www.gu.org/ http://www.gu.org/Portals/0/documents/14-National_Center_on_Grandfamilies_Overview.pdf

GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - January/February 2018