The impact of care for grandchildren on the supports for elderly parents of first-generation only-child parents in urban China

Abstract

The support elderly parents receive from their grown-up children and the care they provide for grandchildren reflect the intergenerational relationships in Chinese families. Using data on only-child families in urban China from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this paper studies the status of care provided for grandchildren by parents of first-generation only-child in urban China and considers the effects this support has on the elderly. The data shows that over 80% of only-children parents have cared for their grandchildren. Most only-children also provide support for their elderly parents. Care for grandchildren provided by grandparents increases the economic and housekeeping support for the elderly provided by only-children. Only-children are the main beneficiaries of the intergenerational support that comes from the care for grandchildren provided by elderly parents. If the elderly parents have adequate retirement income and have little or no need for financial support, such intergenerational support resembles “altruism”. However, if the elderly parents do not have adequate retirement income, the satisfaction of their needs depends on resources like time and money available to their only-children.