The plight of grandcarers highlighted on WA's second Grandparents Day Kaye Bendle (67) with her grandson Tyson (10), who lives with her. DIANELLA grandmother Kaye Bendle never thought she would raise another child. But her grandson Tyson, 10, has been under her care full-time for the past seven years, after Ms Bendle's daughter was unable to look after him. The 67-year-old, who is today celebrating Grandparents' Day with Tyson, said people didn't understand the complexities of the situations that many grandfamilies face. ``It's not the cleaning, the cooking, the driving them to soccer," Ms Bendle told The Sunday Times. ``It's the psychological effects on the children being abandoned by their parents. These kids have got traumas that our kids didn't have. ``I'm also dealing with my daughter and the issues she has. It's like, in a sense, a death in the family. What I envisaged for her, to have a healthy happy life, isn't coming to fruition. The plight of the thousands ``grand carers" across WA was highlighted this week, after the State Government was forced to recommit to providing payments to all eligible grandparents who are the primary carers for their grandchildren. Ms Bendle, who is the president of community group Grandparents Rearing Grandchildren WA Inc, said it was a growing social issue and the membership of her group had more than doubled in the four years she had been involved. ``I think it's going to get even worse," she said. Ms Bendle said she didn't know if she would still be receiving a payment from the State Government under their election promise of a Grandcarer Support Scheme. ``If I had my child through the Department for Child Protection, I'd be getting $400 a fortnight for him, plus lots of other benefits, and so $400 a year, even though every little bit helps, isn't a lot," she said. ``But we're happy because it's actually saying we know you're out there. This week the Opposition accused the State Government of breaking its promise to provide $5.3 million over four years in cash payments to grandcarers and said thousands of grandfamilies would miss out on the payment. The 2013-14 State Budget showed only $1.57 million had been allocated over four years. The scheme was to provide $400 a year for the first grandchild aged under 16 and $250 for every other child. A Department of Communities spokeswoman told The Sunday Times the State Government was setting up the program as a pilot scheme initially to see how many families would take up the payment, before exploring further funding options to make up any shortfall. ``Anecdotal evidence from grandcarer support groups is that the number of primary carers who are grandparents is growing," she said. ``There is also evidence that `relative care' fostering arrangements where a grandparent is the primary carer has grown considerably in recent years. ``All eligible grandcarers will receive payment. When a clearer picture of payment uptake is known, further funding sources may need to be explored. The inaugural Grandparents' Day was launched last year by Premier Colin Barnett as a day of recognition to honour and respect grandparents across the state. The Perth Bell Tower is offering free entry to all grandparents today between 10am and 4pm as well as free activities for their grandchildren including face painting, card making, and a balloon artist.