Grandparents

Abstract

We tend to associate grandparents with old-fashioned families - the extended, multigenerational kind much celebrated in our mythology. Many think that grandparents have become less important as the nation has become more modern. According to this view, the shift to factory and office work meant that grandparents no longer could teach their children and grand-children the skills needed to make a living; the fall in fertility and the rise in divorce weakened family ties; and the growth of social welfare programs meant that older peopole and their families were less dependent on each other for support. There are too many stereotypes. Inappropriate and negative stereotypes need to be abolished and abandoned.