Effect on Grandparents of Providing Child Care for Grandchildren

This project empirically examined how having daughters versus sons affects the child-care responsibilities of older women in low-income communities. The hypothesis was that mothers often take care of their daughters' children, and that this extra work of providing child care to their grandchildren can be taxing on their health and well-being. The researchers examined these patterns in the Changing Lives of Older Couples survey. The hypothesis was not confirmed, in part due to the small number of observations from low-income households in the Changing Lives data set.