FOR GRANDPARENTS
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When grandparents receive a delegation of parental authority
Some grandparents have been entrusted with all or part of the parental authority of their grandchildren whose parent is ill. They are sometimes referred to as Trusted Third Parties.
A trusted third party is an adult appointed by the juvenile court judge to take in a minor who is in danger or at risk of being so. This is a person with whom the minor already has a bond of attachment and trust, most often a family member.
Every grandparent carries a story.
By registering their child with the civil registry, parents establish their child's presence in the present and in a place. The role of grandparents is complementary: their role is more about welcoming and integrating their grandchild into a family lineage. Grandparents transmit a history, events, and emotions that are essential for their grandchildren's sense of belonging.
Article 374-1 of the Civil Code establishes a genuine right for children to maintain personal relationships with their grandparents:
"The child has the right to maintain personal relationships with his or her ascendants." Only the child's best interests can prevent the exercise of this right.
"With two children suffering from mental health issues, we had given up hope of ever becoming grandparents. But our daughter desperately wanted a child, no matter what. We learned of her pregnancy, with an unknown father, by chance during a hospital stay. It was a shock! At birth, my daughter was separated from her baby, who was placed in foster care. After a long stay in a nursery and with a foster family, our grandson now lives with us. We are responsible for him. My daughter, whose illness has worsened, cannot raise him. While we do our best to ensure some form of parenthood exists, it isn't always easy to involve her as a mother."
Claude
Our Time, June 2022, pp. 34-38.
Grandparent Resources Link:
The UNAFAM Grandparents Network aims to support and inform grandparents in their dual role as caregivers, as they are responsible for supporting their child who has become a parent, as well as their grandchildren, thus bringing together the three generations of the family.
Contact: grandparents@unafam.org
The European Grandparents' School (EGPE) aims to help grandparents to
to find their place in society, to strengthen their ties with their children and grandchildren.
www.egpe.org
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