It was no surprise when Marian Robinson moved into the White House to continue to lend a hand to the First Family. In some ways she is no different from the 5.7 million other American grands (2000 Census) who live in the same home as their grandchildren. According to an AARP 2002 study, 15 percent of American families rely on grandparent caregivers while the parents are on the job. For those families and the 4.5 million children who live in their grandparents’ home (also according to the 2000 Census), Mrs. Robinson brings into public view the role of 70 million grandparents who help raise their children’s children. Marian Robinson is not the first grandparent in the White House, but most of the previous grandparents were the presidents and first ladies themselves. In 1908 it was estimated that in at least ten of the previous 26 presidential administrations grandchildren had been prominent members of the presidential family. Marian Robinson with granddaughters Malia and Sasha Obama. Some of our earliest founding fathers were also “caregivers in chief.” It started with Susanna Adams, the orphaned child of one of John Adams’ sons, and the first child (or grandchild) to live in the White House. She was only 4 at the time and was dubbed “granddaughter of the nation.” Before that, MAY JUNE 2010 GRAND 21 PHOTO: saul Loeb/Getty Imageshttp://www.gettyimages.com/