The Invention of Grandparenthood

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The Invention of Grandparenthood

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October 2006

The Invention of Grandparenthood

When early hominids were learning to live an agricultural based settled life . To get more helping hands in the agricultural activities families giving birth to more than one child . As William Thomas explains in one of his articles , on the birth of next child the mother of a new mother must have observed the new mothers ' inability to take care of the previous child and would have moved to act leading to the

br first tentative step taken down the long road that led to the development of the modern human being and to the invention of Grandparenthood (Thomas , 2005

Since then through the relationship of grandparent with the grandchild the information regarding family hierarchy , cultural aspects , specific attributes of the community they belong to etc . are transmitted to the coming generation in form of stories , casual talks or fun activities Human culture is strongly based on this passing on information mode from one generation to the next . Grandparenthood acts as a platform for such knowledge transfer in various communities

Nowadays , due to better health standards and longevity , it is taken for granted that most parents can expect to live to see all of their children reach adulthood and to anticipate grandparenthood . It was not always so . The major real gains in life expectancy occurred in the 20th century , especially during the second half of the century leading to the multiplication of contemporary grandparents (Hirschman , 2006

Living longer meant that more members of population lead three major segments of life : first as children , second as young adults with and most likely as parents , and third as matured adults - and for most as grandparents . Grandparents have since then had important symbolic and practical functions in different cultures in form of family historians mentors , and role models which conferred to them meaningful status and respect , as grandparents proved as links to the past of families and the repositories of information about their genealogies . Since then Grandparents offered much to families and communities by bringing and keeping them together and maintaining communication between them and providing an alternative care giving member to the children of family who is not only more accepting and responsive to the emotional needs but who also has free time to involve in growth activities of the children in absence of parents

Recent statistics state that 3 .2 million children are living with their grandparents or other relatives . This enormous number has increased over 40 in the last few years , and the number is still growing ( HYPERLINK "http /nyscc .org /voice /s94 /grandparents .html http /nyscc .org /voice /s94 /grandparents .html

Substantial advantages accrue to offspring who can be cared for by two generations of adults . The extra food and attention significantly improve survival rates . Research in countries like India , where multigenerational patterns of family living are a norm , has found similar results . Surely the grandmothers ' contributions of time , energy and material resources across generational lines are important , but that is not all there is to it . Humans , in particular humans living in active multigenerational families and communities , benefit from intergenerational affection

Depner and Bray (1993 ) in one of their studies on grandparents conclude that having a grandparent in the house can serve as a protector for that child . In addition , they noted that grandparents can help educate the family of their historical background and ancestry

An African proverb says , The death of an old person is like the loss of a library ' In these words are embedded the important role given to older adults in many African cultures . After a person has productively lived his or her life as an adult in the community , he or she is honored by initiation into the elder circle . This usually happens around the age of 65 (Thomas , W . 2004

These elders , now masters of the school of life , have the responsibility for facilitating the transition from childhood to adulthood of new generations . The idea of elders as library ' also reveals the fact that only the elders have full access to the tribe 's knowledge base . The elders safeguard the highest secrets of the tribe and protect its medicine and inner technologies . They incarnate the wisdom of the society , which they happily share , often in the form of storytelling

Thus grandparenthood has been an invention born out of the necessity for putting the resources available with human beings in the last phase of their lives towards the welfare of family and society , when their physical capacities no more permit them to carry on performing the roles they were indulged in as parents or actively working adults . The physical decline that comes with aging actually cements the relationship between old and young putting a brake to the fast moving pace of adult 's life and making it more subtle . Specifically it makes them diverted towards more emotional pursuits than rigorously working towards goals of life set in young age . This brings in changes in grandparents making them care giving and kind members of family for grandchildren with whom they can find some peaceful space and relaxation

All throughout human history , grandparents have raised the young while parents supplied the basic needs for survival . Lately however , the family team has broken apart for many with the result that over the last several decades the numbers of children being raised by grandparents either solely , or part-time , has been on the increase . Here are some statistics that give an idea of the extent of the issue

A recent report from the U .S .Census made the following comparison : In the year 1970 , 2 ,214 ,000 children under 18 lived in grandparent-headed households , with the mother present in half of these households . By the year 1997 , this number was reported as 5 ,435 ,000 , or 7 .7 percent of all children in the United States . The majority of children are being raised by 2 grandparents , or a grandmother alone , with different degrees of parent involvement . Since then , the number has increased substantially (Kornhaber . 2002

In families that have both grandparents and grandchildren , the grandparents are the head of the house three-quarters of the time . The parents are heads of the household in the remaining one-fourth of the homes . In the former arrangement , half of the families have a grandmother and grandfather present . The rest have a grandmother with no spouse . Which underlines the financial as well as the emotional burden for grandparents

The dramatic increase in the number of children who need to be rescued by their grandparents during the last several decades poses an important challenge for grandparents today . For many it involves making a life-changing decision to dedicate one 's life to raising a child at a time in life when one may be looking forward to more leisure and less responsibility

Race and Ethnicity

While the majority of grandparents and grandchildren feel close to one another and interact with each other in various ways grandparent-grandchild relationships are also characterized by diversity (Bengtson Robertson , 1985 . Cherlin and Furstenberg (1985 , for example , identified different styles of grandparenting amongst grandparents with adolescent grandchildren . Grandparents may be "detached , having little contact with their grandchildren "passive having regular but superficial contact , or "active " having a great deal of involvement in the lives of their grandchildren

The grandparent experience will , of course , vary according to economic conditions as well as according to the cultural patterns of the country of origin and the degree of attachment of the grandparent and younger generations to their ethno cultural traditions

American data , however , are informative . In an analysis of grandparenting styles , Cherlin and Furstenberg (1985 ) found that a greater percentage of Black grandparents took active roles in the lives of their grandchildren than did Whites or other Nonwhites

A sample of 1 ,058 grandmothers was recruited through the schools and media . Grandmothers raising or helping to raise school-aged grandchildren in Los Angeles were interviewed , and analyses were conducted within ethnic groups . Results show that African American grandmothers experienced equal well-being in coparenting and custodial families however , if the stresses related to the parents ' problems were removed by statistical control , they favored the custodial arrangement Latino grandmothers had greater well-being in coparenting families reflecting a tradition of intergenerational living . White custodial grandmothers experienced somewhat higher levels of affect (positive and negative ) but showed no difference in other types of well-being Implications : The cultural lens through which grandparenthood is viewed has a marked impact on the adaptation to custodial or coparenting family structures (Goodman and Silverstein , 2006

As present grandparents , there are many changes in what was believed to be the "traditional " role . Changes include issues of becoming guardians of grandchildren , and raising adolescents . This task involves many new questions and concerns . However , understanding some problems that are faced can help grandparents create a strong relationship with their grandchildren

In Jordan v . Jackson , 2005 PA Super 208 (June 2005 , the Superior Court faced a case in which the grandparents had cared for the child due to the death of the Father and Mother 's criminal behavior and addiction to drugs . Mother eventually reformed her behavior and requested custody of her child . After home evaluations and a hearing , the trial court ultimately awarded custody back to Mother . Grandparents appealed but were unsuccessful . In another case a child was switched between mother and grandparents seventeen times due to her mother getting in and out of drugs and improvement courses

All these cases show that presently the guardianship rights and laws related to it are going to decide a lot about the kind of care the present generation will receive

References

Bengtson , V .L . 1985 . Diversity and symbolism in grandparental roles . PP 11-24 in V .L . Bengtson and J .F . Robertson (eds , Grandparenthood Beverly Hills : Sage

Cherlin , A .J . and Furstenberg , F .F . Jr . 1986 . The New American Grandparent . New York : Basic Books

Goodman , C . and M . Silverstein . 2006 . Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren : Ethnic and Racial Differences in Well-Being Among Custodial and Coparenting Families . Journal of Family Issues , November 1 , 2006 . 27 : 1605 - 1626

Hirschman , C . 2006 . Population and society : Historical trends and future prospects . Department of Sociology and centre for studies in Demography and Ecology . Pg 6 ,7

King , V . and Elder , G .H . Jr . 1997 . The legacy of grandparenting Childhood experiences with grandparents and current involvement with grandchildren . Journal of Marriage and the Family 59 : 848-859

Kornhaber . 2002 . Raising Grandchildren . The Grandparent Guide . McGraw Hill Books , NY ( HYPERLINK "http /www .grandparenting .org /Grandparents 20Raising 20Grandchildren .ht m http /www .grandparenting .org /Grandparents 20Raising 20Grandchildren .htm br

HYPERLINK "http /nyscc .org /voice /s94 /grandparents .html http /nyscc .org /voice /s94 /grandparents .html

HYPERLINK "http /www .newciv .org /nl /newslog .php /_v228 /__show_article /_a 44 .htm http /www .newciv .org /nl /newslog .php /_v228 /__show_article /_a 4 .htm

(16 Oct 2006

HYPERLINK "http /www .oberlin .edu /faculty /ndarling /adfamb3 .htm http /www .oberlin .edu /faculty /ndarling /adfamb3 .htm ...