This book provides a capsule description of what is known today about the particular aspect of grandparenting, whether it's gift-giving, adoption, travel, or discipline. It presents a picture of the current state of knowledge on grandparenting and the grandparent's place in the family.

Ruth K. Westheimer, world-renowned psychosexual therapist, is the author of numerous books, including Dr. Ruth's Pregnancy Guide for Couples(Routledge, 1999), Dr. Ruth Talks about Grandparents, and a documentary that she produced and narrated, No Missing Links, which examines how grandparents have transmitted traditional values from generation to generation. Steven Kaplan is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion and African Studies at the Hebrew University. His previous books include a co-authored work with Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition ( 1992 ), and an edited collection, Indigenous Responses to Western Christianity ( 1995).

Introduction -- Chapter l: The Grandparent Relationship -- Chapter 2: Common Concerns -- Chapter 3: Grandparenting: A Developing Relationship -- Chapter 4: Created in Our Own Image: Choosing Our Grandparenting Style -- Chapter 5: Vital Roles -- Chapter 6: Distance Is Only Relative, Especially If You're the Relative -- Chapter 7: It Pays to Visit! -- Chapter 8: Giving Wisely -- Chapter 9: Families in Many Shapes and Sizes -- Chapter l 0: Going It Alone: Single-Parent Families -- Chapter l l: Until Divorce Do Us Part -- Chapter l 2: Starting Over: Grandparents as Parents -- Chapter l 3: Like a Passing Shadow -- Afterword -- Resources -- Index.