IPSWICH THINGS TO DO

Grandparents’ Rights

Holiday Inn Ipswich, Ipswich

Information - Grandparents’ Rights

Overview

If you or someone you know is an alienated grandparent please sign up to this event in Ipswich and find out about our campaign.
Join Us for Grandparents’ Rights! The British family court system is under pressure.

More families are breaking up, leaving children caught between parents in an acrimonious relationship and a stressful legal process. Far too often the process adds to the acrimony, and children become caught in the middle.

This can come at the cost of the children’s relationship to both their parents and their grandparents. Grandparents lose contact with grandchildren is not just a tragedy for grandparents, it also has a massive detrimental effect on a child’s emotional and cognitive development. A strong and close relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren is associated with better outcomes for kids. It is associated with emotional stability, and improved performance at school. Logically this is easy to understand, as grandparents are able to offer grandchildren a safe haven away from stressed and traumatic home environments. Even in peaceful domestic settings, children appreciated Grandparents for being a calm and loving presence in their lives. At the moment, European Law subsumed in to British law makes no provision for Grandparents to have an automatic right to see their grandchildren.

Quite simply, in the family court system, grandparents are often overlooked. This despite the huge positive influence they can have on both children and family disputes.

We want to change this reality in our justice system. We want grandparents to have an automatic right to see Grandchildren, which can only be revoked in a Judge feels it is not in the child’s interest. Adverse childhood stress and trauma can have long and lasting impacts later in life. It is linked to higher rates of criminal activity, drug use, mental ill-health, unemployment and further family breakdown. Making a small change in the family court system can break this trend.

Whether you’re a grandparent or just curious, it’s a great chance to connect, share stories, and get the details of what we are trying to achieve. Don’t miss this relaxed, informative gathering which is supported by the Centre for Social Justice founded by Ian Duncan Smith, the chair.