Welcome.


Hi everyone and welcome to Bristol Grandparents Support Group blog. Although we are Bristol based we have grandparents from all over the UK and beyond as members.

It is estimated that over one million children in the UK are denied contact with their grandparents due to family breakdown which may have been caused by divorce/separation, alcohol/drug dependency,domestic violence,bereavement or family feud.
Every child has the right to have contact with their grandparents
if they wish and unless proven unsafe for them to do so. To deny contact from a parent or grandparent has to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving.
I hope to keep you up to date with what is going on in BGSG and I shall continue to campaign for the rights of children to have a loving and meaningful relationship with both parents and their extended family. So please join in as good to hear your views, not just mine!
I also will support via Skype.
There is no membership fee to be part of Bristol Grandparents Support Group.
Esther Rantzen says, " To every grandparent, links of love can never be broken in our hearts."

Please contact during office hours.
07773258270


Saturday 19 May 2012

Grandchildrens' Rights.

I received this email today, and was asked to post it so here it is:

"Hi Ms Jackson
 
I’ve been trying to add to your bristolparents blogs but it doesn’t want to accept me.
 
I’ve recently been successful in being able to see my 3 year old granddaughter again after 14 months silence from her parents. I went to court for a contact order which I won.
 
The point is I didn’t approach my request as a right of mine to see Hannah, but as a right of Hannah to see me.
 
Because of this approach Cafcass supported me from the outset. They said my daughter’s behaviour was “utterly unacceptable”; they stressed to the judge that I was pushing for Hannah’s rights, not mine; and now  she gets to see me and play and get to know me once every three months. Not a lot but owt’s better than nowt.
 
It might be an approach that abandoned grandparents in general should adopt. The child’s rights in these situations are paramount and courts are much more likely, I think, to accept this view and settle in favour of the grandparents.
 
I was going to blog this at some length. Perhaps you might do so for me?
 
Best regards
 
Allan Friswell"

As you will know Bristol Grandparents Support Group have always said this is not the rights of grandparents but the rights of the children, as stated on our website.
 
 

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