Uh, oh.
Apparently grandparents are becoming obsolete.
According to this survey, we’re being replaced by technology.
No longer are we the ‘go to place’ for answering our grandkids’ questions, a traditional role played by grandparents. Instead, Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube are replacing us, at least in the role of passing on knowledge.
It seems that if a question can be answered on the Internet, 90% of the children will look it up there rather than come to us.
Hmm. Sounds bad.
But then there’s this Oxford University study that found that those grandchildren “with a high level of grandparental involvement displayed fewer emotional and behavior problems.”
So, bottom line:
The little kiddies may not be coming to us to learn things they can find out on line.
But if their parents are smart — as most of them are — they’ll be sure to keep us in their kids’ lives.
(Plus, we need those little wonders to help us with our computer and Internet problems. And without us, who will teach them why the 2-1 count is so important in baseball or what are the three toughest outs?)
Tim Malieckal said:
Those are some pretty stark numbers … on the 2-1 count, I mean. Glad the net was there to teach me!
But seriously folks, the bigger threat to grandparents, I think, is how much later people marry and have kids. Most of the female classmates I know had their first child in their thirties. I’m 38 and married but childless (so far). If you do the math, were I to have a child at 39, and said kid were to follow suit, I’d be pushing 80 when I became a grandfather! Not sure what good I’d be to them at that point…
For scale, my mother had me at 23.
janet brownsister said:
GREAT SHOTS!
Remember when we used to ask Sam to define a word and he always sent us straight to the dictionary?Of course kids need grandparetns!
Who else would buy them all the apps they want that their parents don’t think are necessary?
Obviously nothing forbidden, but just extras.
In our case our Jolie knows she can purchase free if they’re not on the “no-fly” list
and are free!
(1.99 requires permission)
Nicole Cate said:
I’d point out that technology is actually keeping grandparents relevant in our family – Noah (and Eleanor, technically) spend many hours a week video chatting with their grandparents, and the technology has allowed Noah (and will allow Eleanor) to maintain true relationships with them despite the distance.
Who are the people in the first two photos?
Richard said:
First picture is my dad, Sam, with daughter Annie. The second one is my mother and father, Esty and Sam, with my two nephews Cory and Randy, and the third one is again Sam with Eli, great grandson, but the same principle applies I think. We all know about the fourth picture, I presume.
Sam use to say quite often, not original I’m sure, that the grandchildren and grandparents have the same enemy.
And I clearly agree with Nicole about there being advantages with the technology for the grandparents/grandkids. We just have to take advantage of them.
Cory said:
I can’t stop looking at that picture of us with Esty and Sam. Great shot – Do you have more? I miss them. Nice article and glad you’re so committed to the site – I should come here more.
Judy White said:
The best part of this essay is the great photos. Loved seeing Sam & Esty, and Rick too, being grandparents.
Jane Bluestein said:
It was so nice seeing the pictures of Esty and Sam. I have heard about them for so many years from Cory, who is married to our daughter, Julie that I feel like I knew them.
Couldn’t tell who was who with Randy and Cory. Great Pictures and great memories.
As a grand-mother of 8 I can defintiely relate to all the comments and article.
Always enjoy hearing from U, Richard. Thannks for keeping me on your list.
Fondly,
Jane Bluestein
Bill Plitt said:
I concur with much that’s been said about the age at which our children are having their kids; how geographic distance and vocational mobility effect relationships, and the ever increasing importance of occasional photos because of such patterns. I find myself performing as a surrogate grandfather for local children in our Virginian community, as their parents must do as our parents in Maryland must have done when we lived in far away Colorado.
I fear that passing this article on to my kids will further increase the guilt I know they
must have already, though I like the idea that Grand parenting can have such an impact on the lives of the little ones. I always have said, that I will be closer to those children
around my neighborhood than I will with my own grandchildren. That doesn’t mean
that I will love them or miss them less.
B.
Carrie Trauth said:
Computers cannot tell the parents how great our grandchildren are!!!!