Mediate Michigan

The well-meaning grandparents were still carrying old wounds and hurts from their divorces. They felt completely helpless when they watched their children file for divorce or separate from spouses, imposing family turbulence on their grandchildren. Why, the grandparents wondered, didn’t my children learn from my experience?

Additionally, the grandparents had no idea where they fit in the restructured family. Because families don’t have roadmaps to navigate new family configurations, it was clear most of the grandparents took a ‘wait and see’ attitude before stepping into their grandchildren’s rearranged lives. In order to not rock the family boat, many grandparents evolved to a reactive role rather than an active one.

via Claire N. Barnes, MA: What About the Grandparents?.