THIS IS AMERICA - Grandparents

THIS IS AMERICA - Grandparents
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, March 15, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week -- meet the grandparents!

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

One day recently, a woman in Washington, D.C., spoke¹ on the telephone to her first and only grandchild. The boy lives in California, on the opposite side of the United States. The grandmother talked a long time. Later, a friend asked her what the child had said.

The grandmother answered. He had not really said anything. Mostly, he cried. He was, after all, two weeks old.

VOICE TWO:

A children's doctor from Chicago, Illinois, says becoming a grandparent often makes normal adults act silly, even a little crazy. He should know. He has ten grandchildren. But he says the satisfaction of being around them never gets old. He says none of his friends can escape without seeing pictures of his grandchildren.

 
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American grandparents are surely like any other grandparents. Millions of them love to play with their grandchildren. They buy them gifts. They read to them and prepare special foods. They take them places. They teach them skills for later in life. And, in many cases, they try to make sure the children learn family traditions.

Santa Fama is a retired³ teacher in Bethesda, Maryland. She likes to cook Sicilian and other Italian food with her grandchildren.

Mary Horwitt of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, liked to play with her grandson -- play music, that is. Missus Horwitt, who died several years ago, was a pianist who performed concerts with her teen-age grandson.

VOICE ONE:

Some grandparents are wealthy enough to pay for travel to faraway places with their grandchildren. But others are happy to take their grandchildren to local parks. Or they might watch them perform in some event at school. That is, if they live close enough to attend.

Today, many Americans live far from their grandparents. School mental health specialist Suzy Karpel says she regrets this fact of modern life. She says she often sees situations in which families need the advice and support of grandparents. Mizz Karpel says this is true especially when problems develop. This is when parents might wish most that they had a helpful grandparent nearby.

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VOICE TWO:

 
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If you ask grandparents how it feels to be a grandparent, most will immediately say "wonderful." They like spending time with their grandchildren. But many will also go on to say that they like being able to return the children to their parents when the time comes.

These grandparents have already gone through the daily cares and worries of raising children. Now it is time for them to take pleasure in their grandchildren.

VOICE ONE:

Yet some grandparents have the responsibility of full-time⁴ care for their children's children. At any one time, the research organization RAND says, ten percent of grandparents live only with a grandchild.

RAND says four-million children in the United States live with their grandparents. But two-and-one-half-million of them also have at least one of their parents in the same home. These children represent around four-percent of all grandchildren. RAND researchers say this percentage has not changed much in recent years. But the growing number of young people in the United States means that the total numbers are rising.

VOICE TWO:

Nearly one-and-one-half million children live with their grandparents only. This is two percent of all grandchildren. The RAND researchers say this rate has increased in recent years, but not much. It had been decreasing from nineteen-forty through the nineteen-eighties.

The RAND researchers say African American children are more likely to live with their grandparents. They report that about eight percent live with their parents and grandparents. Almost six percent live only with their grandparents.

The researchers say black grandmothers historically have played a more important part in child-raising than white grandmothers. The researchers add that higher poverty rates among minority families may also help explain these numbers.

VOICE ONE:

Some grandparents who care for their grandchildren have legal custody⁵. This means they have full responsibility for raising them. Other grandparents take care of their grandchildren full time, but do not have legal control. In some cases, one or both parents also stay in the grandparents' home, but are unable to care for their children.

Some grandparents take care of their grandchildren only during the day. This is so one or both of the parents can work or attend school.

VOICE TWO:

The reasons that grandparents become caretakers for their grandchildren are often sad, as you might think. The parents may have died. Or they may no longer live together. Other times, a parent might have a serious health problem, or use illegal drugs. One or both parents may be in jail⁶. Or they left their children without care, or physically⁷ mistreated them.

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VOICE ONE:

Mental health specialists say there is no way to know how children will feel living with their grandparents. They may feel happy and secure⁸, or they may suffer emotional⁹ problems. They might mourn the loss of the family situation they had before. Young people may not want to obey the rules and advice from their grandparents. Other children at school might even make fun of their living situation.

VOICE TWO:

The grandparents also may have difficulties. Even if they receive public aid, they may struggle financially to support their grandchildren. Grandparents who have jobs may have to find additional¹⁰ childcare.

Grandparents who are responsible for young children might not have the energy to deal with them. Health is an issue. Older people might worry about, if they die, what would happen to their grandchildren.

VOICE ONE:

Social workers say many grandparents who care for their children's children express loneliness. They do not have anyone to talk to about the children's health or schoolwork or problems of growing up. Most friends their age finished with such concerns long ago.

A program in Dorchester, Massachusetts, helps caretaker grandparents deal with situations like these. The program is called GrandFamilies House. This is a living center with twenty-seven apartments for grandparents and their grandchildren. Most of the adults are grandmothers.

Several agencies¹¹ also operate in the building. The Y.W.C.A. of Boston, for example, provides childcare and help with schoolwork. It also provides computer education for people of all ages.

VOICE TWO:

Several years ago, researchers from the University of Massachusetts did a study at GrandFamilies House. They asked about issues like how the grandparents felt spending their later years caring for grandchildren. One woman said she enjoyed seeing her grandchildren grow up. She said she had worked all the time when her own children were small. Another grandmother said the children kept her young.

A place like GrandFamilies House also helps keep families together. Many of the grandparents say they are glad to be able to keep their grandchildren out of foster¹² care. Foster care is a system where state and local agencies place children in temporary homes or emergency shelters.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Americans celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day. So why not a day to honor¹³ grandparents?

Grandparents Day was established in nineteen-seventy-eight. This holiday is observed in September on the first Sunday after Labor¹⁴ Day in the United States. Some families gather for a special meal. Others will send gifts or cards to faraway grandparents, or call, or write them an e-mail.

VOICE TWO:

But grandparents do not need a special holiday to talk to their grandchildren. A computer programmer who lives in Reston, Virginia, says she will never forget a telephone call she received. The call came a few minutes before she was about to get married. It was her grandfather on the line. He was eighty-seven-years old, and very sick. He called to say, "Have a happy life!"

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁵. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for THIS IS AMERICA, in Special English, on the Voice of America.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

9 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

10 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

11 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。

13 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。