Let’s Chat: Grandparents as caregivers, a sad but necessary reality

By Linda Tooth on October 8, 2025.

As I begin to work more with young people, I am noticing a shift in what a traditional family looks like. Now this shift and new normal for many has been around for years, even decades, but it is something that is new to me. That is the new normal of grandparents now being legally responsible for their grandchildren, and by that I mean they are raising them. I, like many, work with young people whose family life represents those in skipped generations.

First let me define what skipped generations means. According to the website LovetoKnow, a skipped generation is “a family with grandparents and grandchildren, but no middle generation included.” Now the reasons are varied as to why parents are not in the picture as their children grow up. Two of the reasons that seem to have escalated in recent years are incarcerated parents, specifically mothers, and those parents with addiction issues.

According to the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary, a community-based program that offers support, advocacy, and programs for women and marginalized individuals who are impacted by the criminal justice system, of incarcerated women are mothers with 70% of those being single mothers. I am not here to debate the subject of why they are in prison; I am just stating facts so that we can try and better understand what is going on in this country.

In 2003, it’s estimated 20,000 Canadian children had been separated from their incarcerated mothers with that number increasing one year later to 25,000 children. Now there are a few incarcerated mother programs in Canada known as the Correctional Service Canada Mother-Child program where newborns are allowed to stay with their mothers, but that is only available to them up to their fifth birthday and the stipulations that must be in place for this to happen are long.

What happens to them when they turn five and their mother is still incarcerated? It is the hope that family members, like grandparents, will take on the responsibility of being a firsthand parent to their grandchildren.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association report titled The State of Mental Health in Canada 2024 – Alberta Profile, this province had the second highest rate of deaths due to opioids toxicity. A sad reality.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal did a study that focused on the years between 2019-2021 and what they discovered was accidental overdoses increased in Alberta and in 2021 the average age of those dying was between 30-39 years. This can be the time women have children, or they have had children and are trying to raise them.

What happens to children if their parents are in this age group and are addicted to opioids? Again, it is the hope that family members, like grandparents, will take on the responsibility of being that parent who is present and can help children navigate life’s challenges.

I have recently come across a book titled Raising Grandkids – Inside Skipped Generation Families by Gary Garrison. Living in Edmonton, Garrison is in his sixties and is raising two step-grandchildren.

Topics he writes about are Indigenous grandparenting, a support group for grandparents, raising a grandchild with FASD, and resources available for grandparents. I look forward to reading the experiences of those who have taken on the role of parenting their grandchildren during their retirement years.

A clinical professor from the University of Alberta recommends this book for anyone working with and supporting children. Make sure you check it out!

Have a Meowtastic day and keep reading.

Linda Tooth is a philanthropy and youth support worker, YMCA of Southeastern Alberta