This study is aimed to survey and analyze different roles of grandmothers and grandfathers in rearing children and good and bad effects on children which children's parents themselves feel about them.
For the study, written inquiries were sent to 2 k...
This study is aimed to survey and analyze different roles of grandmothers and grandfathers in rearing children and good and bad effects on children which children's parents themselves feel about them.
For the study, written inquiries were sent to 2 kindergartens in Seoul for parents and grandparents to fill and then the collected 73 inquiries from grandparents and 98 ones from parents were analyzed. Besides, contents of interviews with one parent, one grandmother and one grandfather each were included in the finding.
The finding is as follows:
First, while grandfathers tend to watch their grandchildren play, give money or buy them stuffs, grandmothers are likely to take care of or be with them for longer time than grandfathers. This shows grandmothers play more active role in bringing their grandchildren. On educational front, grandparents help their grandchildren learn language, traditional customs or table manners. They also provide their children with emotional and, when they can afford, financial support necessary in child rearing.
Second, grandparents put top priority on health and good behaviors of their grandchildren. They feel their grandchildren are too much dependent on parents and have unbalanced diet. It turns out that those opinions of grandparents can directly or non-directly affect the way parents educate and rear children.
Third, when it comes to difficulties grandparents have in educating their grandchildren, they replied they found it hard to select appropriate level of education and proper educational materials, and to give answers to grandchildren's questions. They feel it hard to understand ways and philosophies of their children in bringing their grandchildren, which can be often obstacles for grandparents to be active in upbringing of grandchildren.
Parents complained their parents tend to pamper their children too much and make them too much dependent. This generational gap in child rearing often leads to conflicts between them.
Fifth, parents in general are satisfied with their parents' involvement, whose positive effects they feel are emotional stability of their children and domestic discipline on them.
On the other hand, grandparents themselves have positive view in their involvement. They believe this interaction between three generations consolidates bond between family members and gives their grand children a good opportunity to get important domestic discipline.