Grandparents Caring for and Teaching Grandchildren
2020-09-08
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2Retirement, if you plan well, is filled with leisure - time to do what you want when you want.
3That is why we call retirement the Golden Years.
4Retirees with grandchildren have the leisure to see them whenever they want.
5That changed, however, with the coronavirus pandemic.
6Early in the pandemic, health experts warned older adults to limit contact with children.
7No matter how much you love them, children are known for spreading germs.
8And older adults are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19.
9Now, as the pandemic continues, the situation is changing again for some retired senior citizens.
10In the United States, some grandparents are adding new activities in their Golden Years -
11activities like checking schoolwork, supervising study time, and creating educational games.
12Why? For many families, school is also childcare for working parents.
13But most school buildings remain closed.
14Education is happening online and in the home.
15As a result, many families are struggling to find childcare.
16More grandparents are now being asked to not only watch their grandchildren but also supervise their online learning.
17Today we meet some of these families.
18Mary Hill is a 70-year-old retired nurse.
19Her husband Bill is a 72-year-old retired college sports administrator.
20They care for their grandson Will five days a week and supervise his distance learning.
21Will's parents are both teachers who must report to school.
22Grandmother Mary says she and her husband love to spend more time with their grandson.
23But, she says they are much busier than they were before the pandemic.
24And, the situation is not always easy.
25Grandparents are often accused of spoiling grandchildren - letting them eats lots of sweets and play all the time.
26For Mary, becoming a rule enforcer instead of just a fun grandmother for Will has been the hardest part.
27Now she must make sure that Will obeys some "house rules," such as reading and drinking milk every day.
28One new rule is designed to give the older people a break: Will must play by himself for an hour while his grandparents rest.
29"It's more work than I thought it was going to be," Will's grandfather said.
30"At 8 o'clock in the morning, you've got to be there, ready to roll."
31Retiree Mary Pupko was living in Seattle, Washington.
32She recently moved across the country to New York to be closer to her daughter Elisa's family.
33This includes her nearly 3-year-old granddaughter, Evelyn.
34The 64-year-old grandmother has the disease multiple sclerosis.
35So, the family was especially careful in avoiding COVID-19.
36For the first 10 weeks of lockdown, Elisa says, they did not see her mother.
37Mary lives in her own apartment in Brooklyn, New York.
38Then Elisa realized that she needed help with childcare for her daughter, Evelyn.
39She also realized that her mother was alone in her apartment, and that the whole family missed one another.
40So, Elisa bought a car and takes her mother back and forth for daily visits.
41While the child's parents work from home, the grandmother cares for her granddaughter.
42She reads to Evelyn and plays games with her granddaughter in the morning.
43Later the family members all share a meal.
44After eating, Evelyn has some "quiet time," while Grandma takes a nap.
45Then, there is more fun until the workday comes to an end.
46Renee Fry and her husband took similar action to get help with their son, Liam.
47Renee owns an online business and operated it from her home in Massachusetts.
48However, when the pandemic hit, she says she was not able to run her company and supervise her son's education.
49So, Renee and her son moved hundreds of miles southwest to live with her mother and father in Pennsylvania.
50Renee's husband stayed in Massachusetts to continue his work.
51He travels back and forth for long weekends.
52When he is away from his family, he must take extra care to social distance.
53Renee's elderly father, Liam's grandfather, has Alzheimer's and lives in the Pennsylvania home.
54As a former science teacher, Grandmother Pat Fry is more than able to help.
55The 73-year-old says she always enjoyed teaching.
56And, she describes life with her grandson as a "blessing."
57Liam sees a big difference between studies with grandma and studies with mom.
58"Mom tells me the answers. She doesn't," he says, pointing to his grandmother.
59Childcare experts say that in some cultures, caring for grandchildren is what most grandparents do.
60In Italy, for example, there is even a term for it: "nonni culture."
61Back in May, Reuters reported on World Bank research on grandparent childcare.
62The research found that Italian grandparents spend on average 730 hours a year looking after their grandchildren.
63That is more time than found in other European countries.
64In Spain, for example, the finding was 576 hours.
65The hours drop to 360 in France and below 300 in Germany.
66And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
67I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Mario Ritter.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2Retirement, if you plan well, is filled with leisure - time to do what you want when you want. That is why we call retirement the Golden Years. Retirees with grandchildren have the leisure to see them whenever they want. 3That changed, however, with the coronavirus pandemic. 4Early in the pandemic, health experts warned older adults to limit contact with children. No matter how much you love them, children are known for spreading germs. And older adults are at higher risk of dying from COVID-19. 5Now, as the pandemic continues, the situation is changing again for some retired senior citizens. 6In the United States, some grandparents are adding new activities in their Golden Years - activities like checking schoolwork, supervising study time, and creating educational games. 7Why? For many families, school is also childcare for working parents. But most school buildings remain closed. Education is happening online and in the home. 8As a result, many families are struggling to find childcare. More grandparents are now being asked to not only watch their grandchildren but also supervise their online learning. 9Today we meet some of these families. 10Will's family (Grandparents Mary and Bill Hill) 11Mary Hill is a 70-year-old retired nurse. Her husband Bill is a 72-year-old retired college sports administrator. They care for their grandson Will five days a week and supervise his distance learning. Will's parents are both teachers who must report to school. 12Grandmother Mary says she and her husband love to spend more time with their grandson. But, she says they are much busier than they were before the pandemic. 13And, the situation is not always easy. 14Grandparents are often accused of spoiling grandchildren - letting them eats lots of sweets and play all the time. For Mary, becoming a rule enforcer instead of just a fun grandmother for Will has been the hardest part. 15Now she must make sure that Will obeys some "house rules," such as reading and drinking milk every day. One new rule is designed to give the older people a break: Will must play by himself for an hour while his grandparents rest. 16"It's more work than I thought it was going to be," Will's grandfather said. "At 8 o'clock in the morning, you've got to be there, ready to roll." 17Evelyn's family (Grandma Mary Pupko) 18Retiree Mary Pupko was living in Seattle, Washington. She recently moved across the country to New York to be closer to her daughter Elisa's family. This includes her nearly 3-year-old granddaughter, Evelyn. 19The 64-year-old grandmother has the disease multiple sclerosis. So, the family was especially careful in avoiding COVID-19. For the first 10 weeks of lockdown, Elisa says, they did not see her mother. Mary lives in her own apartment in Brooklyn, New York. 20Then Elisa realized that she needed help with childcare for her daughter, Evelyn. She also realized that her mother was alone in her apartment, and that the whole family missed one another. 21So, Elisa bought a car and takes her mother back and forth for daily visits. While the child's parents work from home, the grandmother cares for her granddaughter. She reads to Evelyn and plays games with her granddaughter in the morning. 22Later the family members all share a meal. After eating, Evelyn has some "quiet time," while Grandma takes a nap. Then, there is more fun until the workday comes to an end. 23Liam's family (Grandma Pat Fry) 24Renee Fry and her husband took similar action to get help with their son, Liam. Renee owns an online business and operated it from her home in Massachusetts. 25However, when the pandemic hit, she says she was not able to run her company and supervise her son's education. So, Renee and her son moved hundreds of miles southwest to live with her mother and father in Pennsylvania. 26Renee's husband stayed in Massachusetts to continue his work. He travels back and forth for long weekends. When he is away from his family, he must take extra care to social distance. Renee's elderly father, Liam's grandfather, has Alzheimer's and lives in the Pennsylvania home. 27As a former science teacher, Grandmother Pat Fry is more than able to help. The 73-year-old says she always enjoyed teaching. And, she describes life with her grandson as a "blessing." 28Liam sees a big difference between studies with grandma and studies with mom. 29"Mom tells me the answers. She doesn't," he says, pointing to his grandmother. 30The role of grandparents in other cultures 31Childcare experts say that in some cultures, caring for grandchildren is what most grandparents do. In Italy, for example, there is even a term for it: "nonni culture." 32Back in May, Reuters reported on World Bank research on grandparent childcare. 33The research found that Italian grandparents spend on average 730 hours a year looking after their grandchildren. That is more time than found in other European countries. In Spain, for example, the finding was 576 hours. The hours drop to 360 in France and below 300 in Germany. 34And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 35I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Mario Ritter. 36Are grandparents involved in your family's childcare? Let us know in the Comments Section. 37Anna Matteo adapted stories from the Associated Press and Reuters for this report. Caty Weaver was the editor. 38_______________________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40leisure - n. time when you are not working : time when you can do whatever you want to do : enjoyable activities that you do when you are not working 41grandchildren - n. the child of one's son or daughter 42pandemic - n. medical : an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 43senior citizen - n. an elderly person especially : one who has retired 44spoil - v. disapproving : to give someone, such as a child everything that he or she wants : to have a bad effect on someone by allowing too many things or by not correcting bad behavior 45ready to roll - idiom informal : ready to start doing something 46lockdown - n. the confinement of people to their homes as a security measure 47apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live 48elderly - adj. rather old especially : being past middle age 49blessing - n. something that helps you or brings happiness