Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—It’s officially a phenomenon: Our last major census, in the year 2000, told us that the United States contains nearly 2.5 million households with children being raised by their grandparents. At the same time, fifty-seven percent of the grandparents known to be raising their grandchildren are still in the work force. Divorce, among many other far-reaching cultural shifts, has created a parenting crisis—one that has significantly increased the demands and challenges of being a grandparent.
Though grandparents and their grandchildren have always had a special bond, today’s chaotic and confused culture has pushed them into a more prominent position in the lives of their grandchildren. Living in a divorce-ridden society that has lost its moral compass, many parents are at a loss as to how to raise a child with moral values and a sense of decency, finding the adolescent years especially difficult. Within this vacuum, grandparents are becoming increasingly involved—and important—in supplying the needed stability for their grandchildren. However, the culture in which grandparents find themselves is radically different from the one in which they were raised.
But, just in time for Grandparents Day 2008 (September 7), best-selling author Dr. D. Ross Campbell has penned a “new world user’s guide” for grandparents written in the style of his million-copy bestseller, How to Really Love Your Child. How to Really Love Your Grandchild…in an Ever-Changing World (Regal, August 2008) provides vitally important advice for grandparents who are often left to pick up the pieces of their grandchildren’s broken families—and broken hearts.
In How to Really Love Your Grandchildren, Dr. Campbell offers invaluable guidance and encouragement for all grandparents as they attempt to counter the unhealthy influences of our day and provide direction and influence for their grandchildren. The book also skillfully leads readers through the treacherous waters of grandparenting children with special needs such as ADHD, depression, learning challenges, etc. Topics covered also include:
· Helping children in parenting
· Distance grandparenting and parenting grandkids
· Training children in anger management
· Making a critical difference in the area of discipline
· Giving grandchildren the love and security they crave
· Leaving a legacy of faith
“The lifetime of today’s grandparents has seen the most rapid and unsettling change of any before it,” says Dr. Campbell. “But, even though culture changes, people and their needs do not. That’s why I’ve written How to Really Love Your Grandchildren—so grandparents can receive hope and support, even in a time that can be very frightening and discouraging.”
Here is my review of this informative book:
“How To Really Love Your Grandchild” is a valuable tool for parents, grandparents, and anyone who aspires to one of those roles. This non-fiction title by D. Ross Campbell begins with charming quotes from his own grandchildren about what Grandparents mean to them. It ends with helpful resources: a study guide and a list of how to get the most out of the book.
The beauty of this book is that it looks at grand-parenting from the non-traditional roles that grandparents now encounter including distance relationships and being a parent rather than a grandparent. This would be a wonderful reading group pick for grandparents.
The beauty of this book is that it looks at grand-parenting from the non-traditional roles that grandparents now encounter including distance relationships and being a parent rather than a grandparent. This would be a wonderful reading group pick for grandparents.
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