There is a lot written about coping with the process of going through your own divorce . But when a divorce occurs in Michigan or elsewhere, it also has an impact on grandparents who are involved in what their children and grandchildren are experiencing.
There are a variety of tips for grandparents as to how to think about being supportive to their child and available for their grandchildren in such a time of need. It is important to provide unconditional loyalty to a child going through a divorce, regardless of whether or not the divorce is something that the grandparents think was a wise decision. This is also true if their own child was the spouse who walked away from the marriage or had an affair, etc. Parents needs to listen to their child’s side of the story, and offer whatever assistance they can, now that the situation exists.
The unfortunate thing that sometimes happens is that a custodial parent tries to deny one set of grandparents, their ex-spouse’s parents, consistent access and visitation with the grandchildren. For the sake of the grandchildren, it is extremely important to attempt to remain on terms as friendly as possible with a child’s ex-spouse who has custody of the grandchildren. That means, to a certain extent, putting a lid on antagonism that might be felt if there is a belief that the custodial parent was not a good spouse for the parent’s child, and above all, being polite.
Experienced divorce attorneys have assisted many families to go through similar transitions and can often offer good advice on how to approach grandparent visitation issues.
Source: Huffington Post, “How To Live Through Your Child’s Divorce” Claire Berman, Jul. 26, 2013