William Gibson wrote an article on the issue of more and more families are living together with multiple generations. The increase of parents living in the same home as their children increased 67% from 2000 through 2007.
Interesting, must families I know, who own homes in Hawaii, have multiple generations living together. We’ve always contributed it to the high cost of housing in Hawaii. Now, the rest of the nation is following suit.
How does this effect Early Childhood education?
1) Children have the help of grandparents as caregivers or to help with transportation.
2) Young children become close and influenced by other family members in a much closer relationship.
3) Parents are taking care of their aging parents which teach new and different skills to their young children.
In all of these cases can be positive or negative for families.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It can be both negative and positive to have multiple generations living in the same home. I know that in some cases the grandparents are quite old and have a difficult time looking after the children who are often left in their care. Some parents of young children sometimes take advantage of their own parents or grandparents and have them watch their children too often. On the other hand if everyone is working together it can be very beneficial to have many members of the family living together. All the family members can learn to take care of and help each other. If most of the adults are working money may not be as tight. Also children are able to learn things from older generations and they get to know them better, a privilege that not all children get.
ReplyDeleteKawai
Hi Judith,
ReplyDeleteYour integration of the Exchange articles offers the readers perspective on how the content relates to teaching and learning. I am wondering how the text and Kilderry article might expand your viewpoints on humor and multi-generational living. Further, how might culture contribute to both of these topics? Would the inclusion of these elements in any program offer another way to consider ece?
Jeanne
Aloha Judith,
ReplyDeleteI am included as one of the statistics that you quoted above. Last year I moved in with my daughter and her family. It was because we needed to enroll my grandson in a preschool and he secured a space at my school. Because they live and work on the Westside and I lived on the Eastside if the Island he hadno way to get to school. It has work out very well for me too. With theeconomy being the way it is it was hard making ends meet being asingle grandparent ( I am raising my 9 year old granddaughter). Instead of having one household income we now have 3 fulltime incomes. I also get to spend time with my family 24/7.
Val