Issues faced by grandparents when adopting a child in Georgia

Grandparents have every legal right to adopting a child in Georgia and especially if that child is their grandchild. There are several reasons as to why grandparents are the first choice; parents of the child are dead, parents gave their rights voluntarily or involuntarily and abandonment of the child.

Problems faced by the Grandparents adopting a child in Georgia

Giving the legal guardianship to the grandparents is the best thing to do; but there are many problems that they can face whether the grandchild they have adopted is a baby or a teen. There are several challenges the grandparents have to face not only related to the grandchild but also themselves.

Monetary hardship is huge

A lot of grandparents have retired and either receive a small sum of money or at times not at all. They have a hard time arranging for the money that is required to raise the child. The grandparents have to make a lot of sacrifices so that they can give the child a good life.

Health-related issues

As the majority of the grandparents are very old and can constantly have health issues. If the child they adopted is a toddler or very small; then that have to all the time take care of him/ her. This will make their health deteriorate.

A lot of mental burdens

There are feelings of mixed emotions consisting of stress, worry, anger, grief and guilt. The mixture of these emotions can give an abundance of a mental burden. This can be the result of the erratic behavior of the grandchild or of personal emotions.

Not enough time for socialization

Bringing up a child is a full-time job and especially if the child just a baby. The grandparents have very less time to socialization. But with teenagers the grandparents can easily manage the time; there is still less time to interact. 

Jealousy of other grandchildren

Jealousy amongst siblings and cousins is a very common personality trait. Sometimes the intensity of this feeling can vary from severe to mild depending on the relationship with each other. Already grandchildren living in the house can do a lot of bad things in jealousy to the newcomers.

Not enough space in the house

As the grandparents are the only ones that have to live in a house; they don’t need a four to a five-bedroom house. So they adjust in a single room home. But when the grandchild enters their lives; they don’t have enough space to accommodate him/ her.

The problem of finding legal documents

A lot of times it is difficult for grandparents to get a hold of the legal document s that are required for an adoption. There can be further problems related to it as the court can deny the guardianship to the grandparent. 

What can be the solution?

Although the challenges and problems faced by grandparents are a lot and frustrating there are various ways by which they can ease the issues. There are the following solutions to the problems in adopting their own grandchild.

Have meetings with professionals

When you are facing issues; the best thing that you can do is get professional help from experts. There are counselors, social workers and adoption lawyers most notably Tom Tebeau are the ones who can definitely be of great help.

Get to know the grandchild

In order to solve many of the adoption problems; it is advised for whoever is adopting the child is to get to know the child. This is important for the grandparents to exclusively have the knowledge of the likes and dislikes of teenagers.

Make arrangements for better financials

There are many teenagers who are kind enough to help their grandparents with financials. They do various jobs that the grandchildren can do and financially support the grandparents. The grandparents can sell homemade things to support the raising of the child.

Try to buy a big house

There are plenty of ways in which the grandparents can buy a new and bigger house. They are different kinds of loans that are very easily applied and repaid. Or there are various companies that help in making space within the old house which definitely cost less.

Educate yourself

Bringing up a grandchild is very hectic because the trends that they learned when they raised their child have totally changed now. They have to learn a lot about the latest things that their grandchildren like and dislike. 

Allow other children to interact

The only way grandchildren rivalry will come to an end is through talking and understanding. Give a lot of time to all of the grandchildren and others living in the house to come together and interact with each other.   

Keep important documents safe

The paperwork and documents in adopting a child in Georgia are the most crucial thing that the grandparents have to take care of. The grandparents can give the documents to a lawyer for safekeeping while they raise their grandchild.