There are 3.2 million children in the United States living with their grandparents or other kin, a 40 percent increase since 1980. This exploding sociological trend with far-reaching implications for our future spans every segment of our society--rich and poor, black and white, Asian and Hispanic, urban and suburban. Based on interviews with grandparents, their children, and the grandchildren, this book explores the challenges, hardships, and rewards faced by grandparents raising their children's children. Following a preface and introduction that describes the author's experience of raising a grandchild and provides a general picture of the phenomenon, the book's chapters are: (1) "The Bad Parent," on children in the middle of an adversarial relationship between their parents and grandparents; (2) "Family Secrets," contrasting how two sets of grandparents handle what they tell or do not tell their grandchildren about the situation; (3) "When Grandparents' Don't Agree," on the tensions that arise when couples bring two different perspectives to taking in grandchildren; (4) "Healing the Wounds," on the importance of both formal and informal support for coping and mending the effects of adversarial relationships; (5) "Integrating the Birth Parent," on incorporating a relationship between the grandchild and his or her parent, regardless of the parent's problems and even if the parent is not present; (6) "What's in a Name?" on issues surrounding what names or endearments by which a child addresses a custodial grandparent; (7) "Mothers in Prison," on the mothers' perspectives of having their children raised by their grandparents; (8) adoption and transition issues that arise when an estranged parent returns wanting custody of the grandchild; and (9) "Grandchildren--Having Their Say," on resolving the divided loyalties inherent to being raised by grandparents. A 28-item bibliography and a list of resources for grandparents as parents is included. (HTH)