Three Generation Families do Better Financially... at what cost?

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

Findings from the November 2009 Journal of Families issues states that three generation households are better than two generation homes headed by a single parent. The reasoning behind this is that having the grandparents and parents share the financial burden of the home will keep children out of poverty.

"Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation from 2001, the researchers found that the presence of just one grandparent makes the odds of living below the poverty line 80% lower than for children living without a grandparent, and children living with two grandparents are at an even greater advantage."

This is very true and a very good arrangement in theory.

Having witnessed more than one case of single parent and child living with parents, I have to say that it can be a very unhealthy situation. In cases where the single parent is young and still dependent on their parents, the atmosphere can be quite tense. Often the grandparents are still trying to parent the single parent and does not respect their authority as a parent. When a child sees such a power struggle between their grandparents and their parents, the child learns to control the situation by taking advantage of the power struggle in the house.

This is not to say that there cannot be good situations where three generations can coexist for the financial good of all without the child ending up spoiled or uncontrollable. For such an extended family to work, the single parent of the child will have needed to established themselves as an adult before agreeing to such an arrangement. Grandparents coming into the situation must agree that their child is the first parent of the grandchild, and they must defer to that parent.

Without establishing a parental order and having everyone abide by it, the benefit of increased income in the house will not result in a better end result than if the child had been raised in poverty. There will still be great holes in the emotional maturity of the child. In one case the holes will be from the child parenting themselves due to the single parent working all the time. In the other case, the holes will be from the child never being made accountable or getting every thing they want as grandma and mother constant stay in constant friction over the raising of the child.

~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.

Living with In-Laws?

Dealing With Different Generations

Absent Fathers and the Awful Statistics - Part One

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger