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As part of Winning Women's Votes 2010, do grandparents need a more official role?
Currently one in three families depend on grandparents for childcare. And it’s likely that this figure will rise, with grandparents playing an increasingly important role in supporting young families. So is it time that grandparents were given better rights, and more official recognition of their role in society? And if so, what should this recognition consist of? Should their rights be supported by legislation and the courts, or are families best left to themselves to negotiate domestic arrangements? Jane discusses the issues with Sam Smethers from the charity Grandparents Plus, Katherine Rake from the Family and Parenting Institute, and Jill Kirby from the right-leaning think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies.
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Allright, so I was listening to this show on Radio 4 while driving this week.
Basically it was about whether grandparents should have legal visitation rights to their grandchildren
The show featured two couples who had gone to court to try and get access to their grandchildren
My initial view was that this was nonesense and that it should be 100% the parent/parents that decide. Most of the cases in dispute tend to be when a marriage splits up, and the parent that has custody of the kids doesnt want the mother/father in law to have access to the kids. It seemed to me that in both sides of the dispute the grandparents and the parent with custody seemed to be thinking of their own interests rather than the kids... but given that one parent is given custody that is surely on the basis that it is decided they are best placed to decide what is best for the kid.
I dont doubt that grandparents can form very close bonds with grandchildren - but my own view is that while we have to accept that as long as their is no risk or abuse suspected both parents should have some degree of access, the person with main custody should be able to dictate that a grandparent shouldnt be involved.
I think it goes without saying that if both parents are bringing up the child and they dont want the grandparents involved that is their decision.
But it isnt clear cut or simple. If the child has in the past developed a close relationship with grandparents, being kept away from them because the parent with custody is doing it for their own sake is hardly helpful to the child...