An investigation on the motherly roles played by grandmothers as caregivers in rearing children in South Africa: A case study of Zwelitsha location in the Eastern Cape.

Abstract

Grandmothers of today are playing motherly roles in rearing their grandchildren. This study sought to investigate the experiences of motherly roles played by grandparents in rearing children;, the challenges faced by grandmothers in becoming full parents again; the kind of support that grandmothers as care givers receive from social service practitioners to meet the needs of the children under their custodial care; and the kind of empowerment services the grandmothers need to provide motherly care to their grandchildren. The study utilized a qualitative research method in the form of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The process was made possible through the use of purposive sampling and quota sampling to generate the targeted respondents of the study. The study was framed within the structural functionalism theory and the system theory. The structural functionalism theory suggests that all social institutions, including family, exist to fulfil a need in every society as grandparents are there to fulfil a need especially in time of crisis. This has inspired researchers to look to broader societal forces that express changes in the family and adapt to other changes and paradigms that are valuable for the study of grandmothers who are rearing children. On the other hand, the systems theory advances that the family, just like the group, is a system interacting with its environment like all living organisms. The theory was befitting for this study since grandmothers are resuming motherly roles to ensure the upkeep of their grandchildren in the absence of their biological parents. The results of the study have shown that most of grandmothers have emotional problems and are not doing well physically. In addition, some grandmothers find it difficult to access social welfare services from the government and because of various reasons. Some of them reside in some areas that are far reaching and can hardly access information and basic service delivery services. Moreover, the study has shown that the grandmothers do fulfil motherly roles though they are besieged by their age and financial problems. In some situations, they play roles that may go beyond those of the biological mothers.