Why the bond and the intense involvement grandparents assume in today’s society?
The baby boomers are a generation of people born between 1946 and 1964 after the conclusion of World War Two. Canadian baby boomers number approximately 10 million, creating a massive and dynamic group of people, the oldest of whom are just starting to retire.
As we see boomers retire, we’re also seeing a trend in the demographic that has the boomers spending more and more time with their grandchildren and being actively involved in their lives. This is a trend that we’ve not seen as clearly in previous generations and it is, to some, quite surprising because baby boomers have a tendency to be very focused on their own lives.
Why is this a trend? Of course it’s difficult to pin-point exactly what’s going on in the generation, but I can think of a few reasons why the boomers are so actively involved in their grandchildren’s lives.
The first is that, for the most part, the baby boomers are an active generation. Though the oldest of the group are hitting retirement age that doesn’t mean they are slowing down any. These active people are still playing sports, travelling regularly and acting much younger than 65-year-olds of the past. With this much energy it seems natural to me that they’d devote so much of it to their grandkids.
Thinking along the same lines, with that much energy to burn, why wouldn’t the boomers step in to help their over-exerted children out with the grandchildren? Generation X and Y, the children of the boomers, are in a tough position – trying to build careers and have families at the same time. Quite often both parents are working full time, so it’s nice that the boomer grandparents can step in to help out wherever possible and in some cases eliminating the need for the parents to pay for daycare services.
The other reason that I can think why boomers are so involved in their grandchild’s lives is because they have the means to be. Boomers are, on average, quite comfortable financially, giving them some freedom to spend time away from the office with their families. This is a great luxury that their children aren’t necessarily afforded, so it’s wonderful to see families bonding in this special way.
One great way for boomers to spend quality time with their grandchildren is at a family vacation property. There’s nothing like the fun of a cottage or lake house to bring everyone together. If you’re looking for such a property, please contact me at Roxanne@chestnutpark.com and I’ll be happy to help you find one.
