Hi everyone and welcome to The Bristol Grandparents Support Group website.
There are over one million children in the UK 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 should have the right to have contact with their grandparents unless it is proved to be unsafe for the child. I hope to keep you up to date with what is going on in the group and I shall continue to campaign for changes in the Family Justice System. so please join in as it is good to hear your views, not just mine! There is no membership fee to be part of The Bristol Grandparents Support Group.
When you are faced with the heartbreaking situation we find ourselves in, you think it is only you, that no-one else is experiencing your feelings of desolation, but of course you are not alone. The grandparents that I have spoken to all say the same thing, that to be able to talk to others is so helpful; before they felt so isolated.
Like being a parent for the first time, no-one tells you how to do it, you do it by making mistakes and learning by those mistakes. Being a grandparent is no different, no-one tells you how to play this important role, the trouble is that when you make mistakes it can have catastrophic consequences.
A wrong word, a misunderstood look is sometimes enough for it to start to fall apart. In a perfect world we would all be respectful of one another make allowances, be caring but sadly this is not a perfect world, people are busy, they are anxious, the outlook is uncertain, but we ALL still need other human beings in our lives.
As a grandparent remember how it was when you were a parent for the first time? Be there to be supportive, but never interfere. Allow your children to make the same mistakes you made and to learn from them; think your own thoughts but leave just as thoughts, not the spoken word
The aim of this site is to inform people of the issues surrounding Grandparents and their rights to see their Grandchildren, when contact has been denied.
Hopefully our site will give you some relevant information and also someone to contact to discuss your issues. We are in no way giving legal advice, but more of a helping hand, based on experience.
To give support to others who are denied contact with their grandchildren due to family breakdown.
To share experiences and ideas.
To continue to raise public awareness.
To continue to put pressure on government to make changes and to stop grandparents being called ‘irrelevant people’ in the eyes of the law.
To eradicate the phrase Grandparent‘s Rights, to be replaced to Grandchildren‘s Rights.
To lobby our MPs
Our goal is to see our grandchildren.