Across the generations: grandparents and grandchildren

Article: Across the generations: grandparents and grandchildren (PDF)

Objectives

• To consider the social expectations associated with grandparenthood.
• To examine the factors influencing the level of involvement between grandparents and grandchildren.

Classroom instructions

1. Poll your class to see how many students have at least one living grandparent. Use this as an introduction for a discussion of grandparenthood. How do the students see the grandparent–grandchild relationship as different from the parent–child relationship?
2. Explore with your class the social roles of grandparents and grandchildren and the expectations associated with each role. Examine the possible ways in which the grandparent–grandchild relationship might vary across age or sex of grandparents and grandchild.
3. Ask your students about the living arrangements of their grandparents. Have them think about advantages and disadvantages of having three generations in one home. In what ways can grandparents be both caregivers and care recipients at the same time?
4. Discuss with your class potential reasons for the existence of skip generation households, i.e., households in which grandparents are the full-time caregivers of their grandchildren, and there are no parents present. What challenges are faced by these grandparents, both within their own family and from the wider society?
5. Have your students research how grandparent–grandchild relationships might differ in another culture or historical period and have them report the findings to the rest of the class.
6. How might parental separation or divorce affect the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren? What could be some positive and negative consequences?
7. Although our society expects that many older people enjoy being grandparents, it can also be viewed as an involuntary role that arises from the actions of others. Have your students consider possible reasons why older persons might not wish to be active grandparents.

Using other resources

• Profile of Canadian families and households: Diversification continues
• Che-Alford, Janet and Brian Hamm. Summer 1999. "Under one roof: Three generations living together." Canadian Social Trends.
• For further ideas on this topic, see the lesson plan for "Under one roof: Three generations living together."
• Check out our Statistics Canada Website to find other lessons for home economics and family studies. There are more than 30 lesson plans for secondary home economics and family studies.
• See the Family studies kit for detailed graphs that you can use to make overheads for your class.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.