Grandmothering Research
The response to the study was amazing! About 1400 grandmothers had a look at our survey online. Nearly 1000 completed part or all of the questions (and were occasionally defeated by problems with our technology - sorry about that). Some grandmothers did the survey in hard copy mail-back form but most (90%) did it online, which tells us that modern grandmas are not shy of technology. We received more than 200 emails offering comment, congratulations (for tackling this issue), suggestions, offers to be interviewed and more stories of grandmothering. Because of limited funding we were only able to interview 24 of the grandmothers who offered, so we chose a wide range of 'types' - older and younger, those with many grandchildren or just one or two, 'hands on' nanas and those who only saw their grandchildren occasionally (usually either because of distance or relationship issues).
The rich and detailed information from the grandmother interviews, combined with the survey data, forms the basis of a book we hope to publish within the next year. The book [Tentative title : Not yet ready for the rocking chair: Modern grandmothers speak] uses the voices of our study participants to describe what it feels like to be a grandmother, how grandmothering is learned, the grandmothering role and how it changes as both children and grandmothers age, and changes in the self and relationships that occur through the process of grandmothering, including some of the difficulties and stresses of negotiating the role.
Some tentative chapter titles include:- A magical love: The arrival of a grandchild
- That's what nanas do: The role of grandmothers
- I've got a new perspective: A sense of purpose
- My knees slow me down: Health and ageing
- It's a bit of a breeze: Grandmothering versus mothering
- I'm not the parent: Grandmothers and discipline
A taste of our findings is available for download HERE (PDF - 36.6 Kb)
