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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

María and Ricardo, full-time grandparents: “Grandchildren give you so much and make you feel more active”

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Spanish grandparents María and Ricardo spend much of the summer caring for their eight- and six-year-old grandchildren, Alba and Diego.
  • The children stay during the week, filling the grandparents’ days with games, home-cooked meals, sports and time outdoors.
  • María and Ricardo say grandparenting feels more relaxed than raising their own children, while also acknowledging that they are fortunate to have the health and energy to help.

For much of the European summer, María and Ricardo’s home becomes the place where their grandchildren spend the week. Alba, 8, and Diego, 6, arrive on Sunday afternoons or evenings and stay until the end of the week, moving between games, home-cooked meals, sports and afternoons outdoors.

The arrangement helps their daughter manage the difficult balance between work, school schedules, the children’s activities and family life. When the children’s parents have a free day, they spend it together or the children sleep at their own home. For María and Ricardo, the routine demands time and energy, but they embrace it.

Grandchildren give you so much and make you feel more active.

· María and RicardoThe grandparents describe what caring for their grandchildren brings to their lives.

“Grandchildren give you so much and make you feel more active,” the couple told La Voz de Galicia. María said the arrangement also creates an opportunity to spend meaningful time with the children. “It is difficult to reconcile everything, adapt schedules and fill the gaps. Sometimes it is impossible. We love staying with the children.”

It is difficult to reconcile everything, adapt schedules and fill the gaps. Sometimes it is impossible. We love staying with the children.

· MaríaShe explains why the couple helps their daughter manage family responsibilities.

María, who worked in teaching throughout her career, said she had seen grandparents become overwhelmed when they took on a large share of childcare. She considers herself and Ricardo fortunate because they are in good health. Ricardo shares the same willingness to help, driving the children where they need to go and joining in when it is time to play.

For María, being a grandmother carries a different kind of responsibility from raising her own children. “It is a very different feeling from what you remember with your children. It is a much more relaxed experience, not as overwhelming day to day,” she said. With grandchildren, she added, “the concern is different” and the relationship feels less burdened by expectations.

It is a very different feeling from what you remember with your children. It is a much more relaxed experience, not as overwhelming day to day.

· MaríaShe compares being a grandmother with raising her own children.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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