Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships from the Children's Perspective: Shared Activities and Socialization Styles

Abstract

The objective of this study is to describe the relationships between grandchildren and their favourite grandparents, by studying the socialization styles used by latter and the shared activities undertaken. The participants were 360 children between 10 and 12 years old, who completed the grandparent-grandchild relationship questionnaire of Rico, Serra and Viguer (2001) and the socialization questionnaire of Rey and Ruiz (1990). The results demonstrate the importance of gender and family line in the selection of the favourite grandparent, differences being shown in the types of shared activities and in socialization styles. It is concluded that in the majority of cases the profile of the favourite grandparent is the maternal grandmother, retired or a house wife, aged between 60-70, who lives in the same city as his/her grandchild, and who has contact with them several times a week. Furthermore, favourite grandparents get more involved with granddaughters than with grandsons, both in support and care activities and in cultural-recreational activities, and they primarily employ a democratic style. However, there are differences depending on the gender of the grandchild, with democratic principles being used more with girls and authoritarian ones with boys.

Perceptions of grandparents who provide auxiliary care: value transmission and child‐rearing practices

“…In this line, the socializing practices used by current grandparents are consistent with the authoritative style, in contrast with the authoritarian style that was predominant in the past. These results agree with those found by other authors (Blackwelder & Passman ; Pratt et al ; Viguer et al ). Coinciding with these results, Grusec and Goodnow () stated that dialogue was the main predictor of values' internalization, because it allows value discussion with the socializing agents and, subsequently, individuals make their own through internal dialogue.…”

“…Roberto and Stroes () found that grandparents were described by university students as important socializing agents through social value transmission, especially grandmothers, except values related to occupations and instrumental activities, where grandparents had a higher influence. Similar results have been found in more recent studies (Pratt et al ; Viguer et al ; Goodsell et al ). Also, Bengtson et al .…”

Pengaruh Pengasuhan Ibu dan Nenek terhadap Perkembangan Kemnadirian dan Kognitif Anak Usia Prasekolah

“…Penelitian terdahulu membuktikan bahwa pengalaman menjadi kakek dan nenek merupakan pengalaman yang kompleks dan beragam. Nenek dan kakek memiliki peran dukungan penting dalam hal emosional dan finansial untuk ibu dan anak (Viguer et al, 2010).…”

“…Mattanah (2005) menyatakan bahwa orang tua yang terlalu mendorong atau melarang serta terlalu banyak membantu anak justru akan mengakibatkan anak merasa tidak mampu atau merasa bersalah jika tidak berhasil sehingga anak menjadi tidak mandiri (Weiss, 2006). Sementara, gaya pengasuhan yang diterapkan nenek biasanya bersifat permisif (Viguer et al, 2010). Gaya pengasuhan nenek yang demikian dikhawatirkan dapat menghambat perkembangan kemandirian dan kognitif cucu yang diasuh oleh nenek.…”

“…Skor gaya pengasuhan permisif nenek lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan skor gaya pengasuhan permisif ibu bekerja. Hal ini selaras dengan pernyataan Viguer et al (2010) yang mengatakan bahwa pengasuhan yang dilakukan oleh nenek dan kakek tidak terlalu ketat atau tidak terlalu disiplin. Respon kasih sayang anak dengan ibunya lebih tinggi dari neneknya.…”