Grandparent power: Wisdom, experience and perspective–An intergenerational mental health resource

Meeting the long-term care needs of older people is an identified challenge associated with an aging population (Gonzales, Matz-Costa, & Morrow-Howell, 2015). This is especially the case given the increases in longevity (years more likely to share lives between generations) and the fragile intragenerational bonds (e.g., increased divorce rates, single parents) that are likely to impact on caregiving (Lakomý & Kreidl, 2015). Grandparents are noted to be a “common key resource for a child,” providing “crucial help at all kinds of levels: as practical everyday carers, as emotional anchors, firm but gentle childrearers, as models for achievement, as listeners, and as transmitters of crucial information” (Thompson, 1999, p. 499). In this brief column, we consider some family and societal changes in grand parenting and the significance of the grandparenting role.