‘Having It All’ and ‘Needing More’ : Swedish Parents Negotiating Care Between Children and Grandparents
Anving, Terese LU
; Eldén, Sara
and Alenius Wallin, Linn
LU
(2025)
In NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Swedish parents today raise their children in a welfare state, where childcare is both accessible and affordable, and often within dual-income households. At the same time, they have witnessed a challenged welfare state affected by cutbacks, privatizations, and the demands of an increasingly flexible working life. Previous research has shown that Swedish grandparents are more involved in their adult children’s family lives today, and that grandparental involvement is often understood as crucial for parents’ everyday lives and their children’s upbringing. Given this background, this article aims to analyse intergenerational care and relationships, with a specific focus on negotiations and responsibilities between adult children and their... (More)
- Swedish parents today raise their children in a welfare state, where childcare is both accessible and affordable, and often within dual-income households. At the same time, they have witnessed a challenged welfare state affected by cutbacks, privatizations, and the demands of an increasingly flexible working life. Previous research has shown that Swedish grandparents are more involved in their adult children’s family lives today, and that grandparental involvement is often understood as crucial for parents’ everyday lives and their children’s upbringing. Given this background, this article aims to analyse intergenerational care and relationships, with a specific focus on negotiations and responsibilities between adult children and their parents. It is based on a qualitative study on intergenerational care in Sweden involving grandparents, adult children and grandchildren (63 interviewees), and focuses specifically on the narratives of adult children, examining how they navigate their role as the link between grandparents and children. It explores the paradox between “having it all” and “needing more”, highlighting the increasing dependence on the grandparent generation in everyday life, as well as changing ideals around both parenting and grandparenting. This, we argue, contributes to and also partly challenges the contemporary parenting ideology of “intensive parenting” in the Nordic context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b1f718cf-a653-4eca-8720-2e4639c7d72f
- author
- Anving, Terese
LU
; Eldén, Sara
and Alenius Wallin, Linn
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-12-17
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research
- publisher
- Routledge
- ISSN
- 0803-8740
- DOI
- 10.1080/08038740.2025.2600321
- project
- Intergenerational care in Sweden. A study of relationships, commitments, and practices of care in everyday family life.
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b1f718cf-a653-4eca-8720-2e4639c7d72f
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-17 10:38:53
- date last changed
- 2025-12-18 03:39:17
@article{b1f718cf-a653-4eca-8720-2e4639c7d72f,
abstract = {{Swedish parents today raise their children in a welfare state, where childcare is both accessible and affordable, and often within dual-income households. At the same time, they have witnessed a challenged welfare state affected by cutbacks, privatizations, and the demands of an increasingly flexible working life. Previous research has shown that Swedish grandparents are more involved in their adult children’s family lives today, and that grandparental involvement is often understood as crucial for parents’ everyday lives and their children’s upbringing. Given this background, this article aims to analyse intergenerational care and relationships, with a specific focus on negotiations and responsibilities between adult children and their parents. It is based on a qualitative study on intergenerational care in Sweden involving grandparents, adult children and grandchildren (63 interviewees), and focuses specifically on the narratives of adult children, examining how they navigate their role as the link between grandparents and children. It explores the paradox between “having it all” and “needing more”, highlighting the increasing dependence on the grandparent generation in everyday life, as well as changing ideals around both parenting and grandparenting. This, we argue, contributes to and also partly challenges the contemporary parenting ideology of “intensive parenting” in the Nordic context.}},
author = {{Anving, Terese and Eldén, Sara and Alenius Wallin, Linn}},
issn = {{0803-8740}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{12}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research}},
title = {{‘Having It All’ and ‘Needing More’ : Swedish Parents Negotiating Care Between Children and Grandparents}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08038740.2025.2600321}},
doi = {{10.1080/08038740.2025.2600321}},
year = {{2025}},
}