As suburbia developed outside the cities, the migration of young families outward created the first significant distancing in family life. Today, to some degree, our world keeps getting smaller, but the distances are still significant. Adult children often live hundreds if not thousands of miles away from their aging parents. Yet even across those distances, they remain involved in caregiving responsibilities. They rely on many others to assist in these activities, but that does not diminish their concern and level of caring.
Grandparents can have a very strong, positive influence on their grandchildren.
In some cases, moving back home can be a wonderful growth experience. It always helps if everyone has discussed this on all levels, among all generations. And it also helps if everyone is honest with each other about the strength and possible stresses involved. By the year 2020, there will be more people ages 60 and older than ages 18 and younger. These older adults not only will have the power of numbers, but also the power of economics accompanying those numbers.