Having received some comments on 'The Sandwich Generation' I would like to stimulate further debate on this topic.
A lifetime can now span 4/5 generations with increasing longevity, although the modern fashion for delaying parenthood means that many new grandparents are already retired and sometimes in poor health when their grandchildren finally arrive.
I became a grandmother in my 50's when my daughters Sarah and Helen gave birth in 2002 to daughters - Emma and Jessica, pictured above. I now have two grandsons, Oliver and Thomas, aged 3 but sadly all live some distance from Bedford. I lead an active life with 3 part-time jobs, but my four grandchildren are quite exhausting so what must it be like for older grandparents?
The real nightmare is for parents who have to cope with young children and their own elderly parents and often demanding careers. Therefore I am not surprised at the statistics quoted by my anonymous correspondent on their high stress levels.
Maybe those who want to delay starting a family and play Russian roulette with their 'biological clocks' should consider the fact that their own parents may be too old to enjoy their grandchildren, or may not even be around any more......
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