How involved are grandparents in their grandchildren’s lives? A survey for AARP offers some answers.
Based on random telephone interviews with 738 grandparents, the survey found that about one in nine American grandparents over 50 are caregivers for at least one grandchild. Approximately 8 percent of them provide day care on a regular basis, and 3 percent are raising a grandchild — functioning as a parent.
Some other findings:
– The average grandparent is 47 when his or her first grandchild is born.
– One-third of all grandparents over 50 live within an hour’s drive of all their grandchildren. One-fourth have grandchild-ren who live only about an hour’s drive away.
– Grandparents spend an average of $489 per year on gifts for their grandchildren. Clothing and books are the most common presents.
– More than 40 percent of grandparents who are not caregivers and do not live with grandchildren say they see a grandchild at least weekly. About 25 percent do so once every two weeks or monthly.
– About 45 percent of grandparents talk by telephone with a grandchild at least once a week. One in 10 grandparents, however, talk by telephone with a grandchild fewer than four times a year.
– When asked to describe their roles, grandparents most often respond by calling themselves a companion or friend to their grandchildren.
