Several studies focusing on the interaction between elderly people and their middle-aged children show that the family is a very stable institution. The analysis of the three generation families shows that there is a stability in the parent-child relationship concerning not only the value of the family as a social institution but also concerning shared values, consensus and emotional closeness. Interaction, such as verbal contact and spending time together, is quite frequent. Also the exchange of support is less unbalanced than often believed. Economic support is more often given from the elderly parent to the middle-aged child, than in the opposite direction.
Practical support goes both ways, but is more common in the direction from child to parent.
In this latter respect, the exchange of support is asymmetrical, since the elderly parents receive more help than they themselves give to their children. If in need of temporary help or assistance, most elderly people would in the first hand turn to their children, apparently regarding them as a potential resource. As a consequence of the above described factual situation, the analysis of the future possibilities of informal care of old people has to build on two somewhat contradictory facts. Children and other relatives apparently play an important role in giving both practical and emotional support to elderly kin in need of permanent care, even if they themselves are not responsible for the heavy everyday care. But we need more knowledge of what such shared responsibilities might look like in the future.