When Grandparents Help to Raise Children


December 19, 2020


Quote of the Week

"Grandparents are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation." - Louis Wyse

What Happens When Grandparents Help To Raise Children

"New research reveals how grandparents play a key role as co-caregivers of their grandchildren across the globe. About 1 billion people in the world today are grandparents. Because humans are living longer, we are spending more time in the grandparenting role compared to past generations. What’s more, people are having fewer children overall, which means that grandparents can dedicate more distinct time to each grandchild.

Grandparents have been universally important in families across time and their role continues to evolve, but their involvement in their grandchildren’s lives is different around the world. In the United States, roughly 10% of grandparents lived with a grandchild in 2012. In Africa and Asia, living in a multi-generational household is a common practice.

A number of recent studies of families in several Asian countries help to shed light on how grandparents are involved in coparenting, which researchers define as the sharing of child care and upbringing responsibility among two or more adults. These studies suggest that children benefit when parents have strong relationships with coparenting grandparents, and point to some ways that this relationship can be nurtured." [Read Article]

Reading Corner

Title: Grandpa Christmas
By: Michael Morpugo
Ages: 7-10

Why?  "Every Christmas Mia and her family read a letter which her Grandpa wrote to her. His letter is a warm, impassioned and heartfelt wish for a better world for Mia to live in. He remembers fondly the times they spent in his garden finding frogs and worms and planting seeds.

But Grandpa worries that all the things they love so much are in danger . . .  His letter is a hopeful plea to Mia (and to all of us) to continue to care for and protect our precious world.

Michael Morpurgo frames his powerful message about protecting the environment in this beautiful personal story about a grandpa’s wish for his granddaughter to live in a better world. This vital and timely story is paired with Jim Field’s emotive illustrations in this gorgeous Christmas picture book, perfect for the whole family to share." - Publishers

Be the Change

Talk to your children about the role that grandparents play in their lives and what they are grateful for about their relationship with their grandparents. Invite them to share this gratitude with their grandparents in some small way during this festive season!