Second Timers Stage A First-Time Gathering

A group of grandparents and the grandchildren they raise gathered for a picnic Saturday at Spokane’s Audubon Park.

“The picnic gives us moral support for each other because a lot of our friends don’t have children,” said Karen Liguori, a picnic organizer.

Earlier this year, Liguori organized a Spokane support group called “The Second Timers” for grandparents raising grandchildren. She and her husband, Ralph Liguori, are raising their 5-year-old grandson, Dan.

Their grandson is the child of her son and his girlfriend.

Karen Liguori said raising a child the second time around is tough, especially because now she is working outside the home.

The group is intended to help grandparents deal with the old and new challenges of child-rearing.

Liguori became interested in starting a support group after hearing a governor’s proclamation earlier this year of March 25 as Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Day.

That proclamation was prompted by the increase in grandparents caring for their grandchildren.

About 25 families have joined the group, she said.

The picnic was the first event the support group has held.

“We are all strangers,” Liguori said.

About 30 of the strangers picnicked under the sun. Many of the children swam at the park pool to cool down.

Nyla Raab, whose 12-year-old grandson has lived with her for nine years, thinks meeting others in similar situations helps reduce her sense of isolation.

“When I first went through this, I thought I was alone,” she said.

Her grandson is the child of her stepdaughter, who left him with Raab for long periods of time during his infancy.

The gathering also is good for the children.

“Kids get to be around other kids in similar situations,” she said. Some of the grandchildren said they enjoy living with their grandparents and don’t feel different than other children.

Curtis McGuire, 10, said he thinks his grandmother is “cool.”

“She understands a lot of things,” he said.