U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N - E X T E N S I O N • C O O P E R A T I V E E X T E N S I O N

There are many resources avail-able to grandparents raisinggrandchildren—but they’re notalways easy to find. The follow-ing list of books and web sites

are resources that we feel providehelpful and accurate information onraising grandchildren.

BooksFor grandparentsGrandparents as Parents: A SurvivalGuide for Raising a Second Family.Sylvie De Toledo and Deborah EdlerBrown. New York: The Guilford Press,1995.

This book addresses several diffi-cult issues that grandparents facewhen they take on a new, andoften unexpected, job of raisingtheir grandchildren.

To Grandma’s House We…Stay:When You Have to Stop Spoiling YourGrandchildren and Start Raising Them.Sally Houtman. Northridge, Ca.:Studio 4 Productions, 1999.

Designed as a guide for grandpar-ents raising grandchildren, thisbook offers practical solutions toreal-life problems that familieshave to face when traditional rolesand relationships are redefined.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & ListenSo Kids Will Talk. Adele Faber andElaine Mazlish. New York: Avon Books,1980.

Focuses almost entirely on com-munication in families. Though notspecifically designed for grandpar-ents raising grandchildren, many ofthe same topics are applicable:age-appropriate communication,problem solving, and improvingrelationships.

The Grandparent Guide: The DefinitiveGuide to Coping with the Challenges ofModern Grandparenting. ArthurKornhaber. New York: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books, 2002.

A helpful re s o u rce for any gra n d p a r-e nt, The Gra n d p a rent Gu i d e,examines the co u ntless ways gra n d-p a re nts and gra n d c h i l d ren inte ra ct .One section spe c i f i cally looks atraising gra n d c h i l d ren and the diffi-culties and changes that co m ealong with this new re s po n s i b i l i ty.

For childrenThe Adventures of NanaCat and HerChildren—Moving In. Maureen Everetteand Catherine Moon. Gulfport, Fl:Currier Davis Publishing, 2003.www.NanaCat.com

The first in a 10-part series to helpkids adapt to kinship care. MovingIn addresses the need for securitythat is often present when a childmoves to a new home.The story iswarm and caring and expresseslove, security, and safety. (Ages 3–8)

Do I Have a Daddy? Jeanne WarrenLindsay. Buena Park. CA: MorningGlory Press, 1991.

This story provides a model forhow to respond to children’s ques-tions about a parent they havenever seen. (Ages 4–8)

Additional resources

9Grandparents raising

grandchildren

B3786

Le t’s Talk About Living with Gra n d p a re n t s.Susan Kent. Powerkids Pr. 2001.

What it’s like to live with a grand-parent and some hints for ways tomake it pleasant. (Ages 6–10)

Into the Great Forest: A Story forChildren Away from Parents for the FirstTime. Irene Wineman Marcus, PaulMarcus, and Susan Jeschke (illustra-tor). Washington, D.C.: AmericanPsychological AssociationPublications, 1992.

Explores the insecurity and angerchildren may experience whenaway from their parents for thefirst time. The book uses the tale ofa prince’s adventures to gentlysuggest ways to resolve children’sfeelings by relying on their ownstrengths. (Ages 4–8)

The Kissing Hand. Audrey Penn, Ruth E.Harper (illustrator), and Nancy M. Leak(illustrator). Child Welfare League ofAmerica, 1993.

This beautifully illustratedchildren’s book helps childrencope with separation from parents.It gives children a way to feel con-nected with those they love, evenwhen apart. (Ages 4–8)

Love is a Family. Roma Downey andJustine Gasguet (illustrator). HarperCollins, 2001.

Lily worries that she will be theonly kind in her class who bringsjust one person to Family FunNight. It turns out that there weremany kinds of families, includinggrandparents raising a grandson.(Ages 4–8)

The Magic Box: When Parents Can’t BeThere to Tuck You In. Marty Sederman,Seymour Epstein, and Karen StormerBrooks (illustrator). Washington, D.C.:American Psychological AssociationPublications, 2002.

This upbeat and wonderfully illus-trated book helps children copewhen parents are often away fromhome. Contains a wealth of tips forfamilies. (Ages 3–7)

Robert Lives With His Grandparents:A Concept Book. Martha WhitmoreHickman and Tim Hinton (illustrator).Morton Grove, Il: Albert Whitman &Company, 1995.

Robert’s parents are divorced andhe lives with his grandparents.When his grandmother decides toattend Parents Day at his school,he is afraid of what the other kidswill think of him. (Ages 5–8)

What Grandmas Do Best/WhatGrandpas Do Best. Laura Numeroff andLynn Munsinger (illustrator). New York:Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Grandparents can do many thingsbut best of all, they give you lotsof love. (Ages 3–6)

Web resourcesAARP Grandparent Information Center(www.aarp.org/confacts/programs/gic.html)

Has several links related directly tograndparents raising grandchil-dren, including how to find asupport group in your area, localresources, information on legalissues, and much more.

American Psychological Association(www.apa.org/psychnet/)

Provides helpful information andlinks on topics relating to familiesand mental health. Includes linksfor help finding a psychologist plusrecent publications for families,children, and professionals.

Through the eyes of a child: Grandparents raising grandchildren Additional resources

2

Child Trauma Academy(www.childtrauma.org)

This site is dedicated to improvingthe lives of high-risk children.Includes a paper discussing theissues of attachment in maltreatedchildren (www.childtrauma.org/CTAMATERIALS/Attach_ca.asp).

Cyfernet (www.cyfernet.org) A national network of all the publicland-grant universities in thecountry. The website contains awide range of research-basedinformation on child development,parenting, and issues facing grand-parents raising grandchildren.

Generations United (www.gu.org) An extensive website on healthyintergenerational strategies,programs, and policies. Specificallyfocuses on public policy andkinship care issues.

Grand Parent Again (www.grandparentagain.com)

Of fers valuable info rm ation on edu-cat i o n , legal suppo rt, s u p po rtg ro u p s, and other org a n i z ations fo rg ra n d p a re nts raising gra n d c h i l d re n .

Grandparenting Today(www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/grandparent/)

Provides information andresources for grandparents raisinggrandchildren as well as links tonumerous other sites. Developedby Dr. Mary Brintnall-Peterson, oneof the coauthors of this series.

GrandsPlace (www.grandsplace.com) This site is dedicated to suppo rt i n gg ra n d p a re nts and other re l at i ve sraising others’c h i l d re n . It prov i d e so p po rtunities for gra n d p a re nt sg ather and share info rm ation in as u p po rt i ve and helpful env i ro n m e nt .

Helping Children Cope with Stress(www.nncc.org/Guidance/cope.stress.html)

This article discusses children’sreactions to stress as well as strate-gies for helping them cope.

National Sleep Foundation(www.sleepfoundation.org)

People experiencing significantchanges often find their sleep isdisrupted, making it harder tocope. This site provides a wealth ofuseful resources related to sleep. Italso gives information about whatto expect about children’s sleep atdifferent ages and how to helpchildren cope with sleep problems.

Zero To Three (www.zerotothree.org) A national organization dedicatedto helping parents and profession-als care for young children.Thewebsite contains informationabout a range of child develop-ment and parenting related topicsfor grandparents.

Finding Internet sources on your ownThere are a wide variety of additionalresources on the web for grandpar-ents raising grandchildren. Often,finding information is the easy part.Finding reliable, accurate informationis not so easy. The following is a list toconsider when you’re evaluating aweb site:

• Who is the author of the site andwhat are their credentials?

• Who maintains the site?

• Is the site affiliated with a reliableorganization, such as a universityor government-run establishment?

• Does the site list other resources ora guide for finding more informa-tion?

• Does the site reference, or list,where their information is from?

• When was the site last updated?

Through the eyes of a child: Grandparents raising grandchildren Additional resources

3

CreditsAuthors

Julie Poehlmann, Ph. D.Assistant ProfessorHuman Development and FamilyStudiesWaisman CenterUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Mary Brintnall-Peterson, Ph. D.Professor, Family Living ProgramsUniversity of Wisconsin–Extension

Rebecca ShlaferResearch InternHuman Development and FamilyStudiesUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Kari Morgan, Ph. D.Former Program SpecialistFamily Living ProgramsUniversity of Wisconsin Extension

Partially funded by:Grant from the Meta Schroeder

Beckner EndowmentSchool of Human EcologyUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Grant from the Children’s HealthSystem—Child Abuse PreventionFund.

Reviewers:Luci Bearon, Ph. D.

Department of Family andConsumer Sciences North Carolina State University

Linda CatesDirector of Campaign andCommunications United Way of Portage County

Karen DeBord, Ph. D.Human DevelopmentDepartment of Family andConsumer Sciences North Carolina State University

Maryanne Haselow-DulinEditing Services

Cathy NelsonProfessor EmeritusUniversity of Wisconsin-Extension

Susan SaegerProgram Director, Southern ChildWelfare Training Partnership School of Human EcologyUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Janet Sainer, Special ConsultantRelatives as Parents ProgramThe Brookdale Foundation

Grandparent groups:Second Time Around/Mary DobbsFamily Resource Center

Grandparents Parenting Again/Waukesha Women’s Center

Grandparents RaisingGrandchildren Support Networkof Winnebago County

Artists:William Boyd, age 6Catherine DeGuire, age 10David Michael DeGuire, age 6Isabel Meyer, age 6Jenna Sandy, age 6Max Sandy, age 7

Through the eyes of a child: Grandparents raising grandchildren Additional resources

4

Copyright © 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System doing business as the division ofCooperative Extension of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. Send inquiries about copyright permission to: Manager,Cooperative Extension Publishing, 103 Extension Bldg., 432 N. Lake St., Madison, WI 53706.

Produced by Cooperative Extension Publishing.

University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture andWisconsin counties, publishes this information to further the purpose of the May 8 and June 30, 1914 Acts of Congress;and provides equal opportunities and affirmative action in employment and programming. If you need this material inan alternative format, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Programs or call Cooperative ExtensionPublishing at 608-262-2655.

This fact sheet is part of a series.To obtain the rest of the set, visit the University of Wisconsin-Extension grandparentingweb site at www.uwex.edu/relationships/. For more information about this series, contact Mary Brintnall-Peterson,University of Wisconsin-Extension or Julie Poehlmann, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

B3786-9 Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Additional Resources I-08-2003