3 September 2020
Increased well-being and life expectancy have helped increase and strengthen relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren, although these relationships have been affected by the quarantine resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This work analyses the frequency and periodicity of shared leisure time by these two family generations before the pandemic and grandchildren’s perception of their personal development resulting from the time they spent with their grandparents. This research considered 1080 children aged between 6 and 12, 53.61% of whom were female (n = 579) and 46.38% male (n = 501), resident in Cantabria, Vizcaya, Gipuzkoa, Álava, Navarra, La Rioja, Burgos, and Palencia. The target variables are: year of birth and gender of respondents, frequency of shared leisure time with grandparents, and reasons for this shared leisure time. 99.16% of these children shared leisure time with their grandparents with 96.18% doing so every week. 53.71% identified the learning their grandparents conveyed to them as one of the main reasons for sharing intergenerational family leisure time. The personal development they derived from their grandparents in shared leisure times was an important reason for 26.75% of respondents. Significant differences were found by year of birth and gender of the grandchildren, and gender and kinship of grandparents. This article highlights the great value of grandparents and grandchildren sharing leisure time in daily family life and that children were aware of the personal development these shared times produced. Social and family intervention policies should be aimed at facilitating, stimulating, and rebuilding shared time between grandparents and grandchildren and seeking two-way personal development between the two generations.
Please, cite this article as follows: Alonso Ruiz, R. A., Sáenz de Jubera Ocón, M., & Sanz Arazuri, E. (2020). Tiempos compartidos entre abuelos y nietos, tiempos de desarrollo personal | Shared time between grandparents and grandchildren: A time for personal development. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 78 (277), 415-433. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP78-3-2020-01