The benefits of intergenerational coexistence
The concept of family is much broader than that of father, mother or siblings. Grandparents are also part of these nuclei. This figure facilitates aspects such as conciliation and also helps new parents to have a base on which to base the upbringing of their children. children, at the same time that they are presented as a good reference for the smallest of the house.
Sometimes grandparents are even part of this home and live with their children and grandchildren on a daily basis. Although, as in any relationship, frictions may arise in the way of focusing this day to day. However, the multigenerational family It has several benefits that are shared among all the members of this domestic unit and that should be exploited to the maximum.
Restructuring of the population
Why has importance multigenerational family in the last times? The answer lies in the aging of the population in Europe and in most first world countries. Medical advances have made life expectancy grow and the presence of grandparents in the lives of their children and grandchildren to last longer.
This makes it necessary to find a place for grandparents within the family. An accommodation that should benefit both the younger generations present in the home as well as the older generations. Hence, the first benefit of multigenerational families, the elderly are not alone and in this way one of the biggest problems in this sector of the population is avoided.
As indicated in a joint publication of the University of Murcia and the University Research Institute, both older generations and younger generations can share their interests and needs in a way that creates a symbiosis between both points:
Needs of the elderly:
- Educate and raise as they did in their day with their own children.
- Teach everything learned and pass on their customs and values.
- Transmit your legacy to your family (grandchildren in this case).
Needs of parents:
- Reconciliation, a person who can take care of their children when they are at work and that generates enough confidence to stay calm.
- Presence of their own parents and further strengthen the bond they have developed in the past.
Needs of the smallest:
- Receive excellent care from someone you trust and share the parenting style that parents want to implement.
- A positive model to look for, even when their parents are not present at home.
- Know where it comes from and know its past.
Benefits of intergenerational families
In response to the needs that each of the members of intergenerational families may have and to the manner in which these requirements can be complemented with those of the rest, the following benefits can be derived from this coexistence:
- It improves the self-esteem of older people by making them feel loved again and leave aside the loneliness that afflicts this sector of the population.
- Increase your vitality and your desire to live and bet on a new style more active after catching the energy of the youngest.
- They continue learning from the new generations, being able to know better the changes that have happened in the world where they are integrated.
- Young people change their perception towards the elderly, they already see us as someone far away from those who can not understand.
- They extend their support network in difficult times.
- The younger generations know new values and other ways of seeing life.
- Someone with total confidence stays in charge of the smallest of the house.
Damián Montero
