It’s heartbreaking when parents can’t take care of their children.
Sometimes they’re very young or battling illness. Whatever the reason, the courts often look to grandparents to fill in.
There are times when such an arrangement is the perfect solution.
Other times, as these painful confessions demonstrate, it doesn’t really work out that way.
Here, 12 parents describe their difficult situations.
1. When it’s all about control, that can be hard to give up
You have to wonder if the courts could step in.
Image credit: Whisper
2. It’s like a Catch-22
You can’t stay, but if it’s the only way to see your kid, how can you leave?
Image credit: Whisper
3. When they perpetuate the cycle because they like it that way
I hope someone in that parent’s life can help her fight this arrangement.
Image credit: Whisper
4. They can hold it over your head to manipulate you
Even when the desired outcome is in someone’s best interest, children should never be used as a bargaining chip.
Image credit: Whisper
5. It can be hard for grandparents to let go
Even when it’s the best thing for the child.
Image credit: Whisper
6. It’s crushing when you know your child could be hurt
Especially when it’s court-ordered and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.
Image credit: Whisper
7. It can start out with everyone’s heart in the right place
And then it crosses over into something else, and it’s hard to go back.
Image credit: Whisper
8. Some parents don’t know how to let their adult children grow up
But parenting an adult will only result in a power struggle, even if you mean well.
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9. And sometimes they flat out think they know best
Like they see it as a do-over or something.
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10. All the little hurts add up
And then there are the big ones that needlessly make an awful situation worse.
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11. It can be a vicious cycle
And it’s so hard when there’s nothing you can do to change it.
Image credit: Whisper
12. There’s just this overall sense of desperation
And hopeless dread.
Image credit: Whisper
The courts and social workers are all doing the best they can, but these situations are heartbreaking.
Parents who find themselves in similar situations may be surprised to learn that there are sometimes free resources to help them, whether they’re offered through a church or through Legal Aid.
Do you have any suggestions that they might not have tried? Let us know in the comments.
