Editorial: Crossing generational lines

Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006 | 1:20 a.m.

As Americans' average life expectancy increases, so does the number of families that have not only living grandparents but also great-grandparents.

Although actual numbers of great-grandparents are not being recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau, AARP and the National Institute on Aging - the agencies that typically track demographic information about older Americans - demographers suggest that great-grandparents will increase because of overall growth in the older population and the fact that the average life expectancy is now 78.

In fact, so many people are living into their 90s and beyond that the Census Bureau has in recent years added a "100-plus" age category for the first time. The 2000 Census recorded 50,000 people who were 100 or older - a population that by 2040, the bureau predicts, will number more than 580,000.

In a recent story by The New York Times, an aging studies expert from the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that by 2030, more than 70 percent of 8-year-olds will have at least one living great-grandparent.

The lack of experience with great-grandparents has some sociologists, and likely many families, wondering just where these cherished relatives fit in. Some suggest that, with so many people helping to raise grandchildren, these great-grandparents will step into the playful roles once fulfilled by grandparents. Others worry that it will force members of the 50-to-64 age group to take care of two sets of relatives - grandchildren and aging parents.

What is clear, however, is the value of the family history and experience these older adults can bring to, not one or two, but three generations of children. The child who gains access to that wealth of knowledge is lucky, indeed.