Everyone knows that grandparents are special people. Children seek grandparents for love, fun, candy, and unconditional spoiling. The middle generation seeks out seniors for advice, help, and free babysitting services. But the role of grandparent has changed throughout history to become so much more than it ever was in the past.
Henry J. Sage, Associate Professor of History, suggests that New England “invented” grandparents, allowing parents to see their children grow up and have children of their own for the first time. The warmer weather in America– as compared with England – improved living conditions, helping to increase life expectancy.
This increased life expectancy created a stable society. At the same time, tensions often developed within the family due to multi-generational families living on one piece of land. The grandfather was the patriarch of the family, controlling finances and other major family decisions until his death. Because men were given all property, including land, women were dependent upon them. That meant that when a woman grew older and her health faltered, she relied on the oldest male in the family for support.
Life expectancy has continued to increase over the years. Life expectancy has increased to 80 for females and 73 for males – up from 47 in 1900. This means that people are grandparents for a lot longer than they were in the past – as long as 20 to 40 years. One hundred years ago, half of young Americans had two or more grandparents living. Today, 90% of kids have grandparents and are likely to know them for a lot longer than in the past.
Even though children know their grandparents longer, sometimes they never really get to know them. Grown children are much more likely to move from their hometown – sometimes even across the country. In addition, many seniors are more independent financially than in the past. This separation, along with the increasing trend of grandparents avoiding interfering with how grandchildren are raised, accounts for a physical and emotional distance in some cases.
At the same time, there are more and more grandparents becoming sole guardians of their grandchildren with the parents being completely absent from family life. In 1997, 8% of American children were living with their grandparents. In approximately one-third of those cases, the parents were not involved in child-rearing issues at all.
In the past seniors identified mainly with the role of grandparent, while today many seniors focus on other aspects of their personality. Being a grandparent is only part of who they are, especially since many seniors are staying active and possibly working outside the home. Grandparents today are playmates, caregivers, role models, and mentors to their grandkids. In addition, they are employees and friends; they hold jobs and volunteer; they support themselves and take care of themselves. Today, grandparents aren’t defined by what they are, but rather by who they are.
Sources include:
Colonial American History: PURITAN NEW ENGLAND, Henry J. Sage, October 13, 2003,
http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/nvsageh/Hist121/Part1/NewEngland.htm
Building Block 6: Families with Grandchildren, Texas Registry of Parent Educator
Resources, 2001, http://www.unt.edu/cpe/module1/blk6.htm
Historical Perspective Sheds Light on Grandparent's Changing Role, Mary Brintnall-Peterson,
Ph.D., http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/grandparent/rolchng.pdf