While studying at Ohio University, photographer Maddie McGarvey developed an interest in families that consisted solely of grandparents and grandchildren. She tells Refinery29 that it was a dynamic she was "noticing more and more." Since 2010, McGarvey has been photographing one family that fits this mould: Lorrie Casto and her three grandchildren, Sonya, Seth, and Paige.
According to McGarvey, Lorrie has custody of all three kids and has welcomed them into her home and strives to be an active parent. But it hasn't been without sacrifice. "It’s not an easy task, raising children again once all of your own kids are grown up, but she does it to ensure her grandkids have the best life possible, given the situation," McGarvey says.
Lorrie and her grandchildren are just one example of a much larger trend. The number of children being raised by their grandparents is on the rise nationwide — by 2015, this number had risen to 2.9 million in the US. Meanwhile, the number of children growing up in two-parent households in general is declining. These families may not look like the nuclear families of decades past, but their loving relationships show the evolving structure of families in America and around the world.
To get a better sense of one particular family's dynamic, here's a selection of McGarvey's photos of Lorrie and her grandchildren.
Sonya
Amber (back left), the children's mother
Amber and Sonya
Sonya
Lorrie and Paige
Lorri, Paige, and Sonya
Amber
Sonya, Paige, and Seth
Lorrie and Sonya
"Children at church learned a song for Mother's Day titled 'I Love Mommy' and sung to the tune of 'Jesus Loves Me,'" McGarvey says. "However, Lorrie's grandchildren changed the lyrics to 'I Love Grandma.'"
Lorrie and her grandchildren
Sonya
Seth, Paige, and Lorrie
Sonya and Paige
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