Proliferation of 'grandparenting' reveals generation gap

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-18 16:14

Zhou said he felt an obligation to satisfy his grandson's demands and keep him safe.

Many grandparents felt the same. Usually they would buy various toys and snacks for their grandchildren and escort them to school.

The elderly, however, seldom paid close attention to children's psychological health and needs, said Yue Shanyao, a Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences researcher.

A grandmother surnamed Zhi in Shanghai said she had devoted painstaking efforts to her four-year-old granddaughter. The little girl's unsocial behavior at an kindergarten occasion, however, disappointed her a lot.

Yue believed grandparenting had its advantages.

Compared with the young, the elderly had more time and patience to raise kids. The process would also make the elderly feel their life was enriched.

"The key problem of grandparenting is how to make the elderly find a scientific and suitable way to raise children with their experience," he pointed out.

To improve grandparents' way of instructing children, the Shanghai University for Senior Citizens was offering the course "grandchildren education."

"The course aims to help the elderly get rid of the long-standing mistaken ideas of parenting and create a more interactive educating mode with their grandchildren," Yue said. "The course might just serve as worthy try."

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