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Stereotypes of grandmothers as frail ladies in lace and lavender have been perpetuated in books and fairy tales for generations. However, today’s grandmothers may have a different perspective on the role. Many are still working, taking exercise classes, travelling and otherwise involved in healthy, active lives.

Professor Susan Moore from Swinburne and her long time collaborator, Professor Doreen Rosenthal from the University of Melbourne are documenting the experiences of contemporary grandmothers and plan to write a book. Having become grandmothers themselves, they are currently conducting a survey and interviews with Australian grandmothers, to give these women a chance to tell their stories.

“Most people eventually become grandparents, and an individual can expect to be in the role for about one-third of his or her life, an average of about 25 years,” said Moore. “There has been relatively little research into the expectations, experiences, meanings and satisfactions that the role holds for traditional, non-custodial grandparents.”

The focus of the research is on the phenomenon of ‘modern grandmothering’. What are the different ways women manage the transition to grandmothering within an often complex set of commitments? What are the expectations of today’s women in the grandmothering role? How does being a grandmother add to a woman’s sense of well-being? What are the stresses and conflicts?

“Early results suggest great pleasure in the role for a range of reasons, for example, ‘enjoying the best aspects of mothering without the pitfalls’, ‘having someone to pass my memories on to’ ‘the enormous joy of seeing our daughters emerge and develop as mothers’ and ‘the joy in feeling needed’,” Moore said.

Tiredness, conflict over babysitting expectations, problems with in-laws, and feelings of being taken for granted have also surfaced.

“So far, our data indicate that this is a generation of grandmothers who feel in excellent health and see themselves as younger in attitudes and behaviours than their own grandmothers were,” Moore said.

“It’s still early days though, and more data from grandmothers in different situations is needed. For example we’d like to hear from custodial and non-custodial grandmothers, step grandmothers, grans who see their grandchildren often or rarely – in fact all grandmothers who believe they have something to say about this interesting and challenging life stage.”

Hard copies of the survey with mail back envelopes are available from Susan Moore at smoore@swin.edu.au

To access an anonymous survey, click
here



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Media Contact: Lea Kivivali, 0410 569 311

24.03.2009

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