For many, the holiday season is a joyful time filled with sharing and celebrations, but for others, this time of year can represent a real challenge. This is especially true for grandparents who find themselves at the heart of complex family situations and feeling isolated. To help them, there is a listening support line, anonymous and free, called Allo Grands-Parents.
Support from family professionals
This service has been set up by the associationthe European Grandparents’ School (EGPE). Grandparents can call the number to chat with one of the volunteers and get advice on their role, their place, or even how to handle certain situations. Through this line, the listeners — all professionals in family matters — provide those in distress with caring support and help them see things more clearly, as stated by the association on its website.
Annick, a listener interviewed by Le Parisien, explains: « I warn them, I don’t have ready-made answers, we reflect together.;I listen to them carefully and then guide them as best as I can based on their situation. » Generational conflict, disputes, fears of feeling out of place in the family or in the lives of their grandchildren… For around thirty years, the EGPE has been working to support grandparents on a wide range of issues.
Being a grandparent, a role that has evolved significantly in recent years
Today's grandparents are not the same as those from fifty years ago. « A child born today can hope to enjoy their grandparents for twenty to thirty years. There is a whole period of life that we call active grandparenthood », explains Régine Florin, current president of the EGPE, to the Parisien.nds-parents who need to adapt to changing family configurations as well. Divorce and the subsequent shared custody, blended families… Finding your place in the family can turn out to be a delicate mission.
The Allo Grands-parents line is available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM, at 01 45 44 34 93. In-person support is also available at 12 rue Chomel in the 7th.