Grandchildren Rights - Who Will Speak For The Children?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Angela_Montgomery]Angela Montgomery
When it comes to issues of custody, visitation, and other life-changing decisions that have to be made about a child, the child's best interests always take precedence...right?
Wrong.
At least, not when it comes to a grandson's right to sit at Gramma's feet and discover from whence he came...or a granddaughter's right to giggles as Grampa tries to find her best "hide & seek" spot. Or the right of a child to know without question that - should something be wrong with mommy and/or daddy - Papa and Nana will always be able to make it right again.
Unfortunately, grandchildren rights often are only addressed by the law in a reactionary manner. Parents aren't prohibited from treating their children like chattel; thus, many thousands of abused, neglected and unwanted children fall through the cracks each year. All too often children suffer in silence and despair.
Many die.
Statistics in this area are troubling and extremely difficult to ponder for any length of time: According to the Department of Health & Human Services, almost 800,000 children are neglected and abused each year. The child protective service agencies around the country get more than 3 million referrals each year, which pertain to nearly 6 million children. It's also estimated that around 1,800 children die every year because of child abuse or neglect.
Where an active grandparent is involved, incidents of serious injury and long-term neglect are substantially diminished. Unfortunately, instead of recognizing a child's inherent right to share a loving & nurturing relationship with her grandparents, the courts often leave the definition of what's in the child's best interests to parents whose own interests come first.
On the whim and fancy of mostly young parents fighting their own demons - be they abusive childhoods, drugs and alcohol, or adult temper tantrums - using the children as a deadly weapon ultimately ends in shattered hearts and broken, tormented children.
Now, from the legal perspective, grandchildren rights are muddled, at best. The law assumes that an intact family (where a mother and father are married) have full control over what's best for a child. There are limits, however. If physical or mental abuse are proven, the court can (and hopefully, will!) step in. Parent's must provide an education, and they can't neglect their children.
This leaves many thousands of grandparents with the fight of their life on their hands, in the desperate hope of getting even minimal contact with their grandchildren. When you're struggling to get grandparent visitation, you can fall into the same pit that many unthinking & selfish-centered parents do - seeing their children as a bargaining tool, or property. If you want to truly be above this fray and deeply desire only what's best for your grandchild, you must hone in on - and pay extremely close attention to - the rights of your precious grandchildren.
Edmund Burke said it best. "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
You, dear grandparent, may be your grandchild's last, great hope....and her only voice.
Angela Montgomery is Chief Editor at GrandparentsRights911.com. She is a leading authority on grandparents rights, and tirelessly advocates for laws granting the rights of children to have a loving relationship with their grandparents. Want to learn more about [http://www.grandparentsrights911.com/what-about-grandchildren-rights]grandchildren rights? Visit the site at http://www.GrandparentsRights911.com for other informative articles & available resources.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Grandchildren-Rights---Who-Will-Speak-For-The-Children?&id=6416877] Grandchildren Rights - Who Will Speak For The Children?