Granddad of his own free will

A man pushing a pram through the park: 40 years ago this sight would still have turned heads in Germany. This has fundamentally changed, thanks to new gender roles. Today, many men not only play a different part as fathers, but also in their role as grandfathers. But what happens when there is no sign of any grandchildren coming along? For some men, the want to help bring up, play with and spend time with a child, such as was never possible before, might be a reason to act as "surrogate granddad" in another family. But other reasons are also conceivable.

A research project, led by Birgit Blättel-Mink, Professor of Sociology at Goethe University Frankfurt, and Alexandra Rau, Professor of Social Work at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, aims to shed light on this to date hardly explored topic. The project is funded by the Hessen State Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts in the framework of its gender research activities. Blättel-Mink is also Director of the Cornelia Goethe Center for Women's and Gender Studies (CGC) of Goethe University Frankfurt. Sociologist Luigi Wenzl is in charge of the project's implementation. His theory: The "Surrogate Granddad Phenomenon" could indeed become more widespread in future.

But on what scale does this social phenomenon already occur? Is it above all men who feel that they did not contribute sufficiently to raising their own children? Or do surrogate granddads see it as an opportunity to supplement their pension with a little side job? The topic could thus be relevant for three major sociological debates of the present day: For the debate on the compatibility of family and career and childcare shortfalls in families, for the debate on (re-)activating "younger seniors" for services to society and finally for the debate on precarious employment relationships which do not allow sufficient provision for old age.

Luigi Wenzl has investigated 28 projects which put "honorary" surrogate or voluntary grandparents in touch with families. In the next step, detailed interviews are being held with the surrogate granddads identified and -- for the purpose of comparison -- with a few surrogate grandmas. "According to our initial assessment, enabling factors are the lack of own grandchildren, an interest in bonding emotionally with a child, the wish to stay young by being in touch with children and at the same time to allow children the experience of being in contact with 'older' people," concludes Wenzl from the first interviews. "But some older people also have the feeling they need to do something to counter 'modern' upbringing," adds Birgit Blättel-Mink, whereby the "surrogate granddads" interviewed wanted to be seen solely as organizers of recreational activities and not as child rearers.

Deviating views on the tasks of a surrogate granddad can, however, lead to difficulties and tension. The study also aims to illuminate how parents and surrogate granddads negotiate their different requirements and opinions. It already became clear to Luigi Wenzl from his first interviews that it is often only through their partners that men are introduced to caring for other people's children. And some do indeed then shy away from it: In public perception there is still something rather suspicious about older men looking after children.

Further information: http://www.fb03.uni-frankfurt.de/soziologie/bblaettel-mink