Millennials are eradicating grandparents from Earth

If you believe the headlines, millennials are a threat unlike anything this planet has seen since the asteroid that took out the dinosaurs.

The under-35 generation is a plague, taking out beloved staples like home cooking, bars of soap, cereal, cable television, the wine cork, golf, pushup bras, landlines and even paper napkins. Now they have a new target: grandparents.

Yes, poor grandma and grandpa may soon be rendered extinct by what some call the most selfish, self-centred generation yet.

Millennials are waiting longer and longer to hit so-called “adult” milestones like getting married, buying a home and having children. Baby Boomer women tended to have their first child before 30, and often did so earlier in their 20s. The birthrate of women over 40 has doubled since 1990. The average age of American women having their first child hit a record high in 2013.

This delay in procreation means, inevitably, grandparents will be much older — assuming they’re still alive. Great-grandparents have already largely gone extinct.

There are real ramifications to a changing family dynamic. The grandchild-grandparent connection plays a significant role psychologically and practically. In many families, grandparents are necessary to keep child care costs manageable.

According to Statistics Canada, a growing number of grandparents live with their grandchildren and help foot the bills. Some have stepped in as de facto parents. In 2011, 600,000 grandparents shared homes with their grandchildren and 12 per cent of those (about 75,000) have no middle-aged person in the home, essentially keeping grandchildren out of foster care.

According to Arthur Kornhaber, MD and president of the Foundation for Grandparenting, grandma and grandpa aren’t just another set of parents, either. They often take a more relaxed approach with kids. Rather than strict authoritarian figures, they’re secret confidants, friends and “lighthearted conspirators.” They’re often the ones youth turn to with sensitive issues. Parents may teach their offspring to be book and street smart, but grandparents pass on emotional and social intelligence that shapes our character and how we interact with the world.

Intergenerational relationships emphasize that family, community and cultural heritage are larger than the individual and provides a sense of security. If you think millennials are selfish now, just wait until you meet a generation of kids raised without grandparents.