All estranged grandparents know exactly how they feel and the devastation they feel being denied contact with their grandchildren.
The voice of the estranged child is all too often silent.
We think we know how they may be feeling, but we don’t really know.
Yesterday I did an interview on Radio Bristol with John Darvall and as usual after this, I got calls from estranged grandparents. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bc94y3?fbclid=IwAR14qOhDAE2nOrW53WzjD1T0xEvv_tbvyqVLyUHE1ImunGLJhzFU48e4q5g
You can hear the interview if you forward to 12:13 ish.
I picked up the phone to another caller, and listened to an adult estranged grandchild.
The sadness and hurt in his voice was palpable, he talked about watching programmes that featured items having been handed down by grandparents to grandchildren, and wondering about his grandparents.
He said that he felt that is identity and family history had been robbed from him.
Watching other grandparents going to the park is something he finds really difficult,
Not only was he stopped contact with his grandparents, he was not allowed to see any family members, he has no children of his own and spends his time wondering how different things could have been.
When he married and was introduced to all of his wife’s family, again the feelings of loss were enormous.
He repeated over and over again,
Why are people so cruel. I have so much to offer wisdom and experience.
What it proved without a doubt was that to deny contact has a devastating effect on the children, and it is something that lives with them everyday.
This estranged adult grandchild is 73.