one grandparent still living. Among these adult grandchildren, 62% still had their maternal grandmother while only 15% had their paternal grandfather. It is nevertheless worth remembering that these trends do not apply universally. The Netherlands Central 15 Bureau of Statistics estimates that 25% of individuals born in the 1960s will never become a grandparent. There are also substantial regional differences in household make up across Europe. The prevalence of extended-family households varies from just 0.2% of all households in the Nordic countries to more than 10% in the New Member States. 16 The make-up of these extended-family households also shows marked differences across the regions. In the Nordic countries extended-family households mostly consist of adult children living with a partner and one (or both) of their parents. In the New Member States - and to a lesser extent in the Southern European countries – extended-family households predominantly consist of multigenerational households, in which a couple live with both parents and children.13 In the UK and Ireland, the majority of extended households consist of a lone parent living with one or both of her own parents.
Table 1: The living situation of children across the EU regions % Lone parent
% Cohabiting couple
% Married couple
% Extended Family
Sweden
17.0
27.3
54.4
0.5
UK
20.8
12.8
65.1
3.1
Greece
4.8
2.1
91.8
5.7
Bulgaria
14.4
15.6
66.9
44.1
Source: “Household Compostion Across the new Europe: Where do the new member states Fit in?”, Iacovou, M. & Skew, A.J. (2011), Demographic Research Vol 25(14), pp. 465-490
Increasing geographical mobility, particularly in search of work, has also had an impact on intergenerational relationships. In north-western Europe (UK, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg and Ireland) roughly 50% of all parents do not have any child living within 25 km (excluding those living in the same household). This figure falls to 40% in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands), 17 and is similar in the southern Member States (Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece). The implication of this trend is that fewer families will have constant contact between grandparents and their grandchildren. INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFERS (FINANCIAL) There has been increasing talk of “intergenerational conflict” in recent times. Much of the debate has focussed on its public dimension, especially in terms of social security, pensions and healthcare systems. However, a significant part of the generational contract has to be understood as informal interactions, which often take place in the family. A common view is that adult children are net contributors in terms of their support to elderly parents. There is also a popular perception – which figures prominently in both public and policy debate - of a “sandwich 18 generation” which is caught having to provide simultaneously for both their children and their parents. However, the distribution of responsibility within families is often more complicated than the simple image presented of the “sandwich generation”. In many families, the younger generation – as they become young adults – are taking on a caring and support role for their grandparents. Also, many people are increasingly
15
Prins (1994) Probability of grandparenthood not down yet. Maanstadt bevolking, 42(1), 6-8 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 17 SHARE data, (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) 18 Agree, E.M., Bissett, B. & Rendal, M.S. (2003) Simultaneous care for parents and care for children among mid-life British women. Population trenda, 112, 27-34 16
12 - Grandparents as carers – Trends and support services in Europe