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Grandparents seek contact after family separation

Almost half of grandparents lose all contact with their grandchildren after a family separation or divorce, according to a new report

Almost half of grandparents lose all contact with their grandchildren after a family separation or divorce, according to a new report.

It found that 42 per cent never see their grandchildren again after the break-up. Even more - 67 per cent - are prevented from providing any sort of childcare or taking their grandchildren on outings, even when they had done so regularly in the past.

Those whose sons are involved in the split fare worse. Only a third of paternal grandparents said that they still felt close to their grandchildren after separation, compared with two thirds of maternal grandparents.

Research shows a strong link between involvement of grandparents and well-being of children, teenagers in particular. But grandparents have no rights to keep contact with grandchildren after a parental split.

The Children Act, which became law in 1989, gave step-parents who had lived as part of a family for three years the right to apply for contact, but stopped short of extending the same right to grandparents. That means grandmothers and grandfathers have to apply to the courts to be given permission to apply for some sort of contact, a lengthy and expensive process.

Campaign groups say that grandparents should be given the same rights as step-parents and are calling for a change in the law. The report has been drawn up by Families Need Fathers, the Grandparents’ Association and the Family Matters Institute. They will be lobbying MPs to draw attention to the loophole.

Read more in the Times Online

Or download the full report from Family Matters Institute