Grandkids bring life into household
BY BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Monday, September 24, 2012
9/24/12 at 6:48 AM
Join the discussion. Tell our bloggers what you think about their blogs and your answer may appear in the newspaper.
Related Stories
Spanking: A divisive issue
Preparing for newborn is a family effort
What’s so funny about peace, love, planning?
When our oldest grandchildren, twin boys, living near Lawrence, Kan., announced they were thinking about attending Oral Roberts University, my wife and I immediately, without consulting each other, told them we'd be delighted to have them live with us.
It was a big decision to make on the fly, and it seemed unlikely they would take us up on it.
But they did.
In August 2011, they moved into a spare bedroom in our Brookside house, got jobs delivering pizza and dove into campus life at ORU, both making straight A's their freshman year.
It's been an adjustment not having the house to ourselves and watching the milk and ice cream disappear from the fridge.
But overall, it's been great fun and a totally satisfying experience. The twins, their girlfriends and their buddies bring enthusiasm, laughter and interesting conversations to a household that might otherwise be getting a little stodgy.
They pitch in around the house - I think I've mowed the lawn twice in the past year - and they quickly and competently solve an array of digital quagmires we baby boomers find ourselves in as we adjust to the ever-changing world of computers, TV remotes, cell phones and tablets.
I wouldn't recommend it for just anyone. It probably would not have worked out so well for us if they weren't both upbeat, cheerful, cooperative and of stellar character.
According to a recent study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, more and more grandkids are looking to their grandparents for some kind of support during the economic downturn.
Of grandparents, 62 percent have provided financial support to grandchildren in the past five years, averaging $8,289, most of it for education or investments. Of those, 43 percent said they were helping financially because of the state of the economy. And 34 percent said they were giving, even though it was having a negative effect on their own finances.
Twenty percent of grandparents are living in multi-generational households, and 13 percent are caring for at least one grandchild.
