This article explores a role that is often neglected in research into families — that of grandparents. Using structured interviews, the researchers uncovered a high degree of consensus among grandparents about two very important aspects of their role, which can be summed up as ‘not interfering’ and ‘being there’. However, the grandparents also discussed how family obligations could also sometimes hinder them from their own desired activities and leisure pursuits. Jennifer Mason and Hazel Burke provide a warm and human look into the lives of a sample of grandparents and their relationships with their children and grandchildren, and as such this article will be of great benefit to students taking the ‘Families and households’ topic.
Government and political commentators have pointed to the significance of grandparenting as a set of relationships that can be potentially good for children and for grandparents, and also for easing the childcare ‘burden’ on parents and the state. The question of what to do about childcare has become increasingly important because of the rise over recent decades in the engagement of women and mothers in paid employment.
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