DGS49
Diamond Member
I have seen many instances in my extended family and among my friends where young men get married, then shortly thereafter abandon their birth families. They don't call or visit their parents, brothers and sisters, and when kids are born they either gradually or immediately erect a figurative wall between their new family and the man's parents and blood relatives. At my age (69) MANY of my friends lament the "loss" of their grandchildren; many of them have never seen some or all of their grandchildren through their sons.
And when the son is asked about it, he refuses to give any explanation or justification, often refusing even to talk about it.
I realize that parents/grandparents often antagonize the parents through interfering with parenting of the grandchildren, or "spoiling" them, but in the cases I'm talking about they aren't even given access to the grandchildren.
The situation with my own grandchildren (I have one son, three grandchildren) is not quite so bad, but my daughter-in-law passes out contact with the grandchildren as though it were tickets to Steelers football games. We have NEVER been asked to babysit the kids, while HER parents do it virtually every week.
Is this a common thing?
And when the son is asked about it, he refuses to give any explanation or justification, often refusing even to talk about it.
I realize that parents/grandparents often antagonize the parents through interfering with parenting of the grandchildren, or "spoiling" them, but in the cases I'm talking about they aren't even given access to the grandchildren.
The situation with my own grandchildren (I have one son, three grandchildren) is not quite so bad, but my daughter-in-law passes out contact with the grandchildren as though it were tickets to Steelers football games. We have NEVER been asked to babysit the kids, while HER parents do it virtually every week.
Is this a common thing?