Grandparent: Difference between revisions

'''Grandparents''', individually known as '''grandmother''' and '''grandfather''', or '''Grandma''' and '''Grandpa''', are the [[parent]]sparents of a person's [[father]] or [[mother]] – [[paternal]] or [[maternal]]. Every sexually- reproducing living organism who is not a [[genetic chimera]] has a maximum of four [[genetics|genetic]] grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, thirty-two genetic great-great-great-grandparents, sixty-four genetic great-great-great-great grandparents, etc. In the history of modern humanity, around 30,000 years ago, the number of modern humans who lived to be a grandparent increased.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}} It is not known for certain what spurred this increase in longevity,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-zhavoronkov/13-reasons-why-we-will-li_b_3519357.html|title=13 Reasons Why We Will Live Longer Than Our Parents|last=Zhavoronkov|first=Alex|date=2013-07-02|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-23}}</ref> but it is generally believed that a key consequence of three [[generation]]s being alive together was the preservation of information which could otherwise have been lost; an example of this important information might have been where to find [[water]] in times of drought.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wong |first=Kate |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-mysterious-downfall&page=4 |title=The Mysterious Downfall of the Neandertals |publisher=Scientific American |access-date=2013-03-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Caspari | first1 = R. | doi = 10.1038/scientificamericanhuman1112-38 | title = The Evolution of Grandparents | journal = Scientific American | volume = 22 | pages = 38–43 | year = 2012 | issue = 2 | pmid = 21827124}}</ref>

In cases where parents are unwilling or unable to provide adequate care for their children (e.g., financial obstacles, marriage problems, illness or death<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-experience/201510/8-reasons-parents-fail-love-their-kids|title=8 Reasons Parents Fail to Love Their Kids|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-23}}</ref>), grandparents often take on the role of [[Primaryprimary caregiver|primary caregivers]]s. Even when this is not the case, and particularly in [[traditional cultures]], grandparents often have a direct and clear role in relation to the [[Childrearing|raising, care and nurture of children]]. Grandparents are [[Secondsecond-degree relative|second-degree relatives]]s to their grandchildren and share 25% genetic overlap.

[[File:Face detail, Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California. Grandfather and grandson of Japanese ancestry at . . . - NARA - 537994 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|A grandfather holding his grandson. by [[Dorothea Lange]]]]

In writing, ''Grandfather'' and ''Grandmother'' are most common, but very rare as a form of address. In speech, ''Grandpa'' and ''Grandma'' are commonly used in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Australia]]. In [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Ireland]], [[United States]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]] and, particularly prevalent in the Canadian province of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and [[English-speaking Quebecers]], ''Nan'', ''Nana'', ''Nanna'', ''Nanny'', ''Gran'' and ''Granny'' and other variations are often used for grandmother in both writing and speech.

Numerous other variants exist, such as ''Granny'', for grandmother. ''Gogo'' may be used for either. <!--do not add names —– this is sufficient-->

Given that people may have two living sets of grandparents, some confusion arises from calling two people "grandma" or "grandpa", so often two of the other terms listed above are used for one set of grandparents. Another common solution is to call grandparents by their first names ("Grandpa George", "Grandma Anne", etc.) or by their family names ("Grandpa Jones", "Grandma Smith"). In North America, many families call one set of grandparents by their ethnic names (e.g., [[Hispanic]] grandparents might be called ''abuelo'' and ''abuela'' or "abuelito" and "abuelita", [[French people|French]] grandparents might be called ''papi'' and ''mamie'', [[Italian people|Italian]] grandparents might be called ''nonno'' and ''nonna'', or [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and [[German people|German]] grandparents might be called ''Opa'' and ''Oma''. In [[Flanders]] pepee or petje and memee or metje are most used). In [[Friesland]], a common pair is pake and beppe. Northern Chinese people often use ''laolao'' and ''laoye'', while [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]-speaking Southerners often use ''wài pó'' (外婆, mother's mother) and ''wài gōng'' (外公, mother's father), to refer to maternal grandparents; paternal grandparents usually are called ''nǎi nai'' (奶奶, father's mother) and ''yé yé'' (爷爷, father's father). In the [[Philippines]], grandparents are called ''lolo'' (grandfather) and ''lola'' (grandmother).

Languages and cultures with more specific [[kinship terminology]] than English may distinguish between paternal grandparents and maternal grandparents. For example, in the [[Swedish language]] there is no single word for "grandmother"; the mother's mother is termed ''mormor'' and the father's mother is termed ''farmor''.<ref>{{citation |title=Child language, an international perspective: selected papers from the First International Congress for the Study of Child Language |volume=1 |editor-first=Philip S. |editor-last=Dale |editor-link=Philip S. Dale |editor2-first=David |editor2-last=Ingram |publisher=[[University Park Press]] |year=1981 |location=[[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/childlanguageint0000inte/page/275 275] |oclc=6863252 |isbn=978-0-8391-1608-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/childlanguageint0000inte/page/275 }}</ref> However, the other [[Scandinavian languages]], [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], use words which specifiesspecify the kinship like in Swedish (identically spelled among all three languages), as well as using common terms similar to grandmother (Danish: bedstemor, Norwegian: bestemor).

[[File:Pedro II of Brazil and grandson and wife 1887.jpg|thumb|Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]] with his consortwife [[Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies|Teresa Cristina]] and their grandson [[Prince Pedro Augusto of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Pedro Augusto]], in 1887. The Emperor's favorite grandson, he was known as "the Preferred".<ref>{{Cite book|title=''O Príncipe Maldito''|last1=Del Priore|first1=Mary|date=2007|pages = 67–69|publisher=Objetiva|isbn=978-8573028676|edition=|location=Rio de Janeiro|oclc=}}</ref>]]

Since taking care of grandchildren could be a highly demanding job that requires constant energy and time devotion,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Winefield|first1=Helen|last2=Air|first2=Tracy|title=Grandparenting|journal=International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare|volume=8|issue=4|pages=277–283|doi=10.1111/j.1744-1609.2010.00187.x|year=2010|pmid=21140984}}</ref> grandparental involvement in child raising could have a negative impact on grandparents’grandparents' physical and emotional health. For example, taking care of grandchildren can reduce grandparents’grandparents' own time for self-care such as missing their medical appointments. Therefore, they are likely to have a higher chance to suffer from physical health issues.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=Lindsey A.|last2=Silverstein|first2=Merril|date=2008-09-08|title=Depressive Symptoms Among Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: The Impact of Participation in Multiple Roles|journal=Journal of Intergenerational Relationships|volume=6|issue=3|pages=285–304|doi=10.1080/15350770802157802|issn=1535-0770|pmid=19890447|pmc=2772115}}</ref> In the US, compared with those who do not take care of their grandchildren, grandparents who are involved in childcare are more likely to have poor physical conditions, such as heart disease, hypertension or body pain.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Sunmin|last2=Colditz|first2=Graham|last3=Berkman|first3=Lisa|last4=Kawachi|first4=Ichiro|date=2003-11-01|title=Caregiving to Children and Grandchildren and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=93|issue=11|pages=1939–1944|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.11.1939|pmid=14600070|issn=0090-0036|pmc=1448080}}</ref> Besides physical health issues, grandparents are also likely to have emotional issues. To be more specific, raising young children again could be a stressful and overwhelming experience and thus results in different kinds of [[negative emotion]]s such as anxiety or depression.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Musil|first1=Carol|last2=Warner|first2=Camille|last3=Zauszniewski|first3=Jaclene|last4=Wykle|first4=May|last5=Standing|first5=Theresa|date=2008-11-19|title=Grandmother Caregiving, Family Stress and Strain, and Depressive Symptoms|journal=Western Journal of Nursing Research|language=en|volume=31|issue=3|pages=389–408|doi=10.1177/0193945908328262|pmid=19261805|pmc=2883890}}</ref> In addition to physical and emotional issues, grandparents who are involved in caring for their grandchildren can also suffer socially. For instance, grandparents will be forced to limit their social activities so as to care for their grandchildren. By doing so, grandparents become more isolated from their social relations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ehrle|first1=Glenda M.|last2=Day|first2=H. D.|date=1994-02-01|title=Adjustment and family functioning of grandmothers rearing their grandchildren|journal=Contemporary Family Therapy|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=67–82|doi=10.1007/bf02197603|s2cid=144923568|issn=0892-2764|doi-access=free}}</ref> Taking care of grandchildren also means more responsibilities, grandparents would fear for their grandchildren's future well-being because of their disability and death in the future.<ref name=":11"/> If grandparents cannot handle the caregiver role of their grandchildren well, this job can eventually become a burden or stressor and bring more severe physical health and emotional issues to grandparents.<ref name=":9"/>

Taking care of grandchildren can also have benefits on grandparents’grandparents' emotional health. As an example, many grandparents start to feel a sense of purpose and meaning in life again after their retirement; as another example, their ties with their adult children and grandchildren are also strengthened.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Xu|first1=Ling|last2=Tang|first2=Fengyan|last3=Li|first3=Lydia W.|last4=Dong|first4=Xin Qi|date=2017-07-01|title=Grandparent Caregiving and Psychological Well-Being Among Chinese American Older Adults—The Roles of Caregiving Burden and Pressure|journal=The Journals of Gerontology: Series A|volume=72|issue=suppl_1|pages=S56–S62|doi=10.1093/gerona/glw186|pmid=28575256|issn=1079-5006|doi-access=free}}</ref> Many grandparents also think of the caregiving experience as positive because it provides another chance for them to make up mistakes they made with their own children and give them more opportunities to educate their grandchildren and improve their parenting styles.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crowther|first1=Martha R.|last2=Huang|first2=Chao-Hui (Sylvia)|last3=Allen|first3=Rebecca S.|date=2015-09-02|title=Rewards and unique challenges faced by African-American custodial grandmothers: the importance of future planning|journal=Aging & Mental Health|volume=19|issue=9|pages=844–852|doi=10.1080/13607863.2014.967175|issn=1360-7863|pmid=25345592|s2cid=45508861}}</ref>

Grandparental involvement differs between Western and Eastern cultures. Grandparents taking care of their grandchildren is a common phenomenon in China due to Chinese traditions which emphasize family harmony, collective well-being, intergenerational exchanges and filial responsibilities.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=Jing|last2=Mao|first2=Weiyu|last3=Lee|first3=Yura|last4=Chi|first4=Iris|date=2016-01-04|title=The Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on Grandparents' Physical Health Outcomes: The Role of Intergenerational Support|journal=Research on Aging|language=en|volume=39|issue=5|pages=612–634|doi=10.1177/0164027515623332|pmid=26733495|s2cid=3501128|doi-access=free}}</ref> China's unique philosophies, [[Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]], play important roles in forming these cultural values. While Chinese Buddhism emphasizes prioritized role of the family in Chinese society and harmonious relations among family members,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Kin Cheung (George)|last2=Oh|first2=Alice|last3=Zhao|first3=Qianru|last4=Wu|first4=Fang-Yi|last5=Chen|first5=Shiyun|last6=Diaz|first6=Thomas|last7=Ong|first7=Chez Kuang|date=2017-07-03|title=Repentance in Chinese Buddhism: Implications for Mental Health Professionals|journal=Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health|volume=19|issue=3|pages=210–226|doi=10.1080/19349637.2016.1204258|s2cid=147858749|issn=1934-9637}}</ref> Taoism emphasizes the importance of harmony in interpersonal relations and relations between nature and the humans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Ellen Marie|last2=Center|first2=Philosophy Documentation|date=1969-08-01|title=Nothingness and the Mother Principle in Early Chinese Taoism|journal=International Philosophical Quarterly|volume=9|issue=3|pages=391–405|doi=10.5840/ipq19699332}}</ref> These philosophies underline the important role that families play in Chinese cultures. Besides cultural factors, grandparents taking care of their grandchildren also appears in the context in which their adult children need to work full-time, and the child care services are either too expensive (in big cities) or too scarce (in remote areas).<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last1=Cong|first1=Zhen|last2=Silverstein|first2=Merril|date=April 2012|title=Caring for grandchildren and intergenerational support in rural China: a gendered extended family perspective|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/caring-for-grandchildren-and-intergenerational-support-in-rural-china-a-gendered-extended-family-perspective/54884FB9B14DE4065FB82E9855DCC199|journal=Ageing & Society|volume=32|issue=3|pages=425–450|doi=10.1017/s0144686x11000420|s2cid=36069431 |issn=1469-1779}}</ref> Grandparents serving as their grandchildren's caregiver is particularly common in rural China. Due to the fast development of [[urbanization in China]] since the 1980s, up to 220 million migrant workers from rural areas move to urban areas to seek for more job opportunities, which leave around 58 &nbsp;million children behind in rural areas,<ref name=":10" /> grandparents, therefore, undertake the role of parents and become caregivers to their grandchildren. A new population named “left"left-behind grandparents”grandparents"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.cctv.com/2017/06/19/ARTIwcjdVnf3stqB4rpGm8qn170619.shtml|title=【吾老吾幼·大山深处的留守】留守祖母：大山深处的奉献与思念_新闻频道_央视网(cctv.com)|last=滕雪|website=news.cctv.com|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref> appears in this context, these grandparents live in rural China, and their main job is to look after their grandchildren, most of these grandparents are facing financial burdens and wish their adult children could come back. The mental and physical health of “left"left-behind grandparents”grandparents" needs more attention from the public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.ifeng.com/a/20150325/43409767_0.shtml|title=留守奶奶去世多日无人知 1岁半孙女险饿死|website=news.ifeng.com|access-date=2017-11-23}}</ref> Even though in urban areas where child care services are available, nearly all grandparents still prefer to take care of their grandchildren voluntarily. Not only because this can reduce their adult children's financial burdens on child care services but also taking care of their own grandchildren is a more effective way to maintain family harmony.<ref name=":9" />

[[File:Jean-Baptiste Greuze - Filial Piety - WGA10664.jpg|thumb|Painting''Filial Piety'', a 1763 painting by [[Jean-Baptiste Greuze]], painter of modern grandparents and [[filial piety]].]]

The representation of grandparents as grandparents is recent in France: Diderot invented the verbs grandpériser and grandmériser in the [[18th century]]. [[Victor Hugo]] published ''[[L'Art d'être grand-père]]'' in 1877.<ref>[[Jean Lebrun]], « Les grands-parents », émission ''[[La Marche de l'Histoire]]'' sur France Inter, 28 juin 2012</ref>

According to French parish registers and civil status records, at the end of the [[18th century]], a little more than half of the grandparents were alive at the birth of their grandchild, a third when the child was 10 years old, and still 10% at 20 years old.<ref name="Gourdon">{{cite book|author1=Vincent Gourdon|date=2001|isbn=978-2-262-01767-5|publisher=Perrin|title=Histoire des grands-parents}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> In rural [[France]] at the end of the [[18th century]], the majority of family systems were of the nuclear family type (grandparents did not cohabit in the family home, they were only welcomed there at the end of their lives). However, in regions such as Alsace, the west of [[Brittany]], [[Occitania]], or the Savoy region, the systems were more complex, with the stem family in particular: the home housed a succession of family nuclei, the patriarch having authority over this home, which could lead to conflict. These cohabitations were therefore managed from the time of marriage by notarial acts that provided for "clauses of insupport" to share the domestic space and tasks in case of conflict.<ref>{{cite journal | author=[[André Burguière]] | title=Les transformations de la culture familiale et des structures domestiques autour de la Révolution | journal=Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest | date=1993 | volume=100 | issue=4 | pages=405 | url= }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=France, Cour de cassation, Chambre civile 1, 28 février 2006, 05-14484 |date=2006-02-28 |url=https://juricaf.org/arret/FRANCE-COURDECASSATION-20060228-0514484 |issue=5–14484 |access-date=2023-10-14 |language=FR}}</ref>

In the cities of the [[19th century]], there was generally no cohabitation (with the exception of noble families and their lineage logic, a model that declined after 1850), but bourgeois families often housed all the family branches in the same building (they met with their grandparents at the family home during cousinades) while in the working class, grandparents lived in the same neighborhood, family solidarity remaining strong: the mother working outside the home, the children were often cared for by the grandparents.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Jean-Marc Rohrbasser | title=Histoire des grands-parents | journal=Population | date=2001 | volume=56 | issue=6 | pages=1079–1081 | url= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=aïeul : définition de aïeul, citations, exemples et usage pour aïeul dans le dictionnaire de français Littré adapté du grand dictionnaire de la langue française d'Emile Littré |url=http://littre.reverso.net/dictionnaire-francais/definition/a%C3%AFeul |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=littre.reverso.net}}</ref>

The [[Civil code|Civil Code]] recognizes few rights for grandparents with regard to parental authority in [[France]], but case law from the 1850s has influenced family legislation: a Court of Cassation ruling on July 8, 1857 recognized the right of grandparents to visit, but this right was only enshrined following the law of January 4, 1970 as part of a general overhaul of family laws in [[France]].<ref name="Gourdon"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=AÏEUL : Définition de AÏEUL |url=https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/a%C3%AFeul |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=www.cnrtl.fr}}</ref>

Thus, the lineage-based vision of grandparents in the [[18th century]] was succeeded by the "indulgent grandparent" vision in the centuries that followed. This is reflected in the institutionalization of visits and vacations with grandparents, the use of tu (informal "you") by grandchildren to address grandparents, which developed gradually in the [[19th century]], the advent of affectionate names (papi and mami, pépé and mémé, papet and mamé in the south of France) given to the baby boomer generation from the 1970s, or the increase in grandparental care, which marks a greater emotional closeness and the de-hierarchization of relationships.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gilles Pronovost|author2=Chantale Dumont|author3=Isabelle Bitaudeau|date=2008|page=275|publisher=PUQ|title=La famille à l'horizon 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQnpHUBG1skC&dq=garde+grand+parentale+%2B+d%C3%A9hi%C3%A9rarchisation&pg=PA275}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In [[Switzerland]], the relationship between grandchildren and grandparents is protected by Article 274a of the [[Swiss Civil Code]]:

Grandparents wishing to benefit from a right of custody must demonstrate in court that these exceptional circumstances are effective. As a simple third party, grandparents do not have a legal right to visit in [[Switzerland]]. A motion was rejected in September 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Personalized gifts for Grandma |url=https://www.suzitee.com/collections/gifts-for-grandma |access-date=2023-10-14 |website=Suzitee -– Personalized & Unique Custom Gifts For Every Occasion |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-09-10 |title=Pas de droit de visite légal pour les grands-parents |language=fr |work=Le Matin |url=https://www.lematin.ch/story/pas-de-droit-de-visite-legal-pour-les-grands-parents-715538311942 |access-date=2023-10-14 |issn=1018-3736}}</ref>

* [[Aunt]]

* [[Cousin]]

* [[Grandfamily]]

* [[Uncle]]