Abstract
The aim of this research study was to examine challenges and its coping strategies that are experienced by grandparents in caring for their grandchildren. In order to investigate the research problem, a qualitative research method and snowball sampling design was applied with a total of 21 grandparents. Descriptive phenomenology was the approach employed for conducting this study. These research finding substantiated that there are many reasons why Grandparents find themselves in raising grandchildren. Some of the most common reasons are HIV/AIDS related death, mental illness, loss of job by their parents, a teen pregnancy, and other circumstances contribute to reasons children are being raised by grandparents. The result of the study also revealed that there are several challenges that encounter grandparents in raising grandchildren. More specifically, grandparents are found to experience social, economic, psycho-emotional challenges, such challenges made various obstructions for grandparents in raising their grandchildren. Findings from this study further indicated that even though grandparents are old enough and have health problems they have attempted to apply different mechanisms to cope their financial hardship to overcome the cost living condition to raise their grandchildren. generally, The results of the study show that the grandparents and their grandchildren have needs that call for greater attention to be given as the available services and service providers need to be attentive to their special needs and the need to expand the types and number of services provided for these grandparents and their grandchildren.
Highlights
As many of the African countries, in the case of Ethiopia the increment of children living in households headed by grandparents are connected with various reason, such as loss of their parents because ofHIV/AIDS, increasing numbers of single parent families, high rate of divorce, teenage pregnancies, incarcerations of parents, substance abuse by parents, illness, disability or death of parents, parental abuse or neglect are the major causes for Ethiopian children who are forced to live in households headed by grandparents
Diverse aspects of challenges faced by Grandparents;Factors that determine grandparents to becoming parents, Experiences of grandparents in caring for their own children and their children's children in the parenting practices, and Coping strategies of grandparents to meet their challenges
[11] Some grandmothers were encountered with the stressful challenges of caring for the grandchildren, and they brought to their mind with the painful past events of their personal history which might be related in rearing of their grandchildren and how it affected their psychology and emotion. each of these multifaceted life events is predictable to produce anxiety, pressure, emotional, psychological and social hardships and which able to put in supplementary trouble in the lives of grandparents and their grandchildren as well [5]
Summary
The dramatically growing numbers of grandparents raising grandchildren has persisted to draw attention among researchers. They are instantly commenced to comprehend the intricate and multidimensional aspects that surrounding grandparents while caring for their grandchildren [9]. Populations have been changing at a rapid rate, and it is necessary that any efforts designed to ameliorate the well-being of societies recognize and respond to these changes. One of such changes is an increasing numbers of children in many developing nations, with a significant and growing proportion of girls and boys left vulnerable by a loss of parental care. Most of the Ethiopian grandparents are subject to the double protection bind of both needing care and protection in their older years and needing to support their grandchildren and ageing spouses as well [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
