By Bob Rudolph
Grandparents Rights of Washington State (GROWS) has a booth at the great Steilacoom 4th of July celebration. One of the best family orientated celebrations in the state. We are so proud to be residents of Steilacoom—what a wonderful and beautiful town and so family oriented. We are so fortunate to live here. The 4th is a family day for celebration and it would be nice if all families could celebrate with their children and grandchildren.
For many families in Washington State, a big part of that family is missing, the grandchildren. In our GROWS family we now have almost nine hundred grandparents and over twelve hundred grandchildren who, in this state, are not allowed to see each other. The list sadly “grows” every day. Our GROWS grandparents are wonderful grandparents who are grieving for not being able to see their beloved grandchildren.
For one reason or another there is a change in the family dynamics which has nothing to do with the grandchildren, but the parents use the children as pawns and keep them away from the grandparents just because they can. You see we are the only state in the country where if grandparents are unreasonably kept from their grandchildren and they try to work it out within the family, counseling or mediation, grandparents have no other recourse. Please stop by our GROWS booth to learn more about GROWS, we would love to talk to you.