One thing my wife has noticed on our trip is a large number of grandparents vacationing with the grandchildren but without the parents. This occurs in the U.S., no doubt, but the frequency here seems to be much greater.
What explains the difference? One conjecture: the younger retirement age (55, frequently) in French Social Security programs. Grandparents who retire at that age are healthy enough to care for the grandchildren, and they need something to do.
Early retirement is certainly part of the explanation. But more generally, families ties seem to be stronger in France than in the US. In my experience, family reunions are more frequent in French families.
Posted by: fabrice | August 05, 2006 at 10:37 AM