Tuesday,
December 9, 2003
Grandparents
and grandchildren, 2001
For
many grandparents, later life is a time for enjoying the benefits of
retirement. But thousands are finding themselves in an unusual position -
raising their children's children.
In
2001, a total of 56,700 grandparents, or 1% of all grandparents, were living
with their grandchildren without either of the child's parents involved,
according to a report based on census data that appears in Canadian social
trends.
These
households, which consist of grandparents, grandchildren and no middle
generation, are sometimes referred to as "skip-generation
households."
Two-thirds
of the grandparents in these households were women, and just under one-half
(46%) were retired.
Data
from the 2001 Census showed that 56,800 children lived with these grandparents.
Of these youngsters, just under one-half, or 25,200, were aged 14 or under.
These children accounted for 0.4% of the total population in this age group,
about the same proportion as in 1991.
Provincially,
the proportion of children aged 14 and under in skip-generation households was
highest in Saskatchewan. There, 1.2% of grandchildren in this age group lived
alone with a grandparent, three times the national average. The highest
proportion, 2.3%, was in Nunavut, more than five times the national average.
However,
in Quebec, only 0.2% of grandchildren aged 14 or under lived alone with a
grandparent, and in Ontario, only 0.3% did so.
Census
data also showed that nearly two-thirds (65%) of grandparents in
skip-generation households were financially responsible for the household.
Nearly
half a million grandparents live in shared homes
The
56,700 grandparents who lived in skip generations in 2001 accounted for about
12% of the more than 474,400 grandparents who shared households with their
grandchildren.
The
census provided a breakdown of these shared households, based on various
generations living in them.
A
majority of grandparents, about 242,800, or 51%, lived in multi-generation
households, that is, with their adult child, his or her spouse, and the
grandchildren. This could include the so-called "sandwich" generation
in which the middle generation, particularly women, care for both children and
elderly parents.
One-third
of the total, or about 158,200, lived in households in which the middle
generation was a lone parent, most likely the mother. Lone mothers are more
likely than mothers in two-parent families to be in need of support.
Only
16% of grandparents in multi-generational households where the middle
generation was a couple were primary financial providers. But in cases where
the middle generation was a lone parent, 50% of grandparents were financially
responsible.
Profile
of grandparents: Each has average of nearly five grandchildren
GSS
data showed that there were 5.7 million grandparents in 2001. Each grandparent
had on average 4.7 grandchildren.
Only
2% of women and 1% of men aged 45 and under were grandparents. In the age group
55 to 64, nearly two-thirds of women and just over one-half of men were
grandparents.
However,
about 80% of senior women aged 65 and older were grandmothers, while 74% of
senior men were grandfathers.
More
than one-half (53%) of all grandparents were retired, while 30% reported they
were still in the labour force. About 11% stated their main activity as
homemakers or childcare providers.
In
2001, over two-thirds (68%) of all grandparents were married, while 18% were
widowed. An additional 10% were divorced or separated or had never been married,
while 4% were living common-law.
The
above article comes from Statistics Canada, The Daily, December 9, 2003, available at web site
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031209/d031209b.htm