Relationships Between Grandparents and Grandchildren
The relationships between grandparents and grandchildren vary within every family. Some families develop strong relationships with their grandchildren, while others are seemingly unrecognized by one another. For this interview, I was hoping to come into contact with an individual who has maintained a healthy relationship with his or her descendants. Originally I was going to interview someone outside of my family; however, I realized that if I were to interview my own grandmother, I could demonstrate two different perspectives of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, hers and mine.
I chose to conduct an interview with my grandmother (maternal) whom is an 82-year-old Hispanic woman who primarily speaks Spanish. She was born in Texas in 1931 and currently resides at this location. Her socioeconomic status is middle class. My grandmother is a widow. Her husband passed away 10 years ago this month. She is currently unemployed, and resides in the same home that she shared with her husband and children. She has seven children (six females; one male), eleven grandchildren (five females; six males), seven great grandchildren (two females; five males), and one great-great grandchild (female). Considering that my grandmother is the first generation, there are still five active generations on the maternal side of my family.
I would have liked to talk about my grandmother’s relationship with the fourth and fifth generations of my family, but they presently live in Georgia and unfortunately there is not much contact between them. The only child currently in the fifth generation, her great-great granddaughter, still has not met the first generation because they live so far apart from each other. Thankfully, due to technological advancements in communication, my grandmother has been able to see pictures and videos of all the family members from all generations. In the interview, I asked her how she would describe her current relationship with her grandchildren. As expected,
I chose to conduct an interview with my grandmother (maternal) whom is an 82-year-old Hispanic woman who primarily speaks Spanish. She was born in Texas in 1931 and currently resides at this location. Her socioeconomic status is middle class. My grandmother is a widow. Her husband passed away 10 years ago this month. She is currently unemployed, and resides in the same home that she shared with her husband and children. She has seven children (six females; one male), eleven grandchildren (five females; six males), seven great grandchildren (two females; five males), and one great-great grandchild (female). Considering that my grandmother is the first generation, there are still five active generations on the maternal side of my family.
I would have liked to talk about my grandmother’s relationship with the fourth and fifth generations of my family, but they presently live in Georgia and unfortunately there is not much contact between them. The only child currently in the fifth generation, her great-great granddaughter, still has not met the first generation because they live so far apart from each other. Thankfully, due to technological advancements in communication, my grandmother has been able to see pictures and videos of all the family members from all generations. In the interview, I asked her how she would describe her current relationship with her grandchildren. As expected,
References: Facciolo, C. (2012). More than 2.5 million grandparents take on role of parent. USA Today, Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-04-12/rise-of-granparents-grandfamilies/54206854/1 Milne, D Quadagno, J. (2011). Aging and the life course. (5th ed., Vol. 8, p. 194). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.