Grandparent’s Day — Mark Your Calendar, But Don’t Send A Card

With National Grandparents Day coming up — mark your calendars, it’s Sunday, September 9th — AARP Financial has released a “first-of-its-kind nationwide research among grandparents on their relationship with, and support of, their grandchildren.”

The survey “results demonstrate grandparents’ affection for their grandkids as well as their concerns regarding their grandkids’ money values.”

The survey shows that:

* Two out of three grandparents prefer grandparenting to parenting;

* 79% of grandparents agree that kids today do not understand the value of a dollar and 57% say they are concerned that if they give their grandkids too much that they will spoil them;

* Grandparents believe their kids do a better job providing for
their grandkids than they do teaching them good money habits.

* And as for National Grandparents’ day, very few grandparents know when it falls — and most would rather receive a good night’s sleep than a Grandparents Day Card.

“The stereotype of the doting grandparent is by and large true,” said Nancy Smith, Vice President, Investment Services at AARP Financial Inc., a taxable subsidiary of AARP. “But that affection does not necessarily translate into financial gifts, as many grandparents are financially constrained and rightfully concerned about their ability to support a long and active retirement. The good news is there are plenty of small things grandparents can do now to make a meaningful contribution to their grandchildren’s future while imparting a critical life lesson.”

No doubt the greeting card industry will soon be out with a survey which explains that failing to send a card to the grandparents on September 9th is the moral equivalent of war.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.