(CNN) -- Olga Santiago said raising four of her grandkids has led to an odd dynamic: Her daughter comes to visit her own children.
"I thought that I'd be the grandmother visiting the kids," she said. "I thought I'd be the one saying (to the children), 'You need to go back with grandmother,' " she said, "I'd be visiting once a week instead of dedicating myself to buying diapers," she said, allowing a brief laugh. "Not feeding them."
Santiago, a lifelong Hartford, Connecticut, resident, said she is in the process of adopting one of the four, a 12-year-old boy. The other three grandchildren she cares for belong to Santiago's other daughter, who Santiago says "had issues and we both decided I should just take them until she got her act together, which she did about a month ago."
When asked how she is getting by, Santiago said, "Love and patience."
The 48-year-old grandmother is not alone.
Recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that in the past two decades, the number of children living with a grandparent has risen 64%.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/28...tml?hpt=hp_bn8