Grandparenting in developing South East Asia: comparative perspectives from Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam

Abstract

This chapter examines the critical roles played by demographic trends and development levels in explaining cross-country variations in grandparental care in Southeast Asia. Based on analyses of recent national-level surveys of older persons in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, we examine the extent and circumstances of grandparenting and their consequences from the perspective of grandparents. Results indicate that substantial proportions of older persons live in households with coresident grandchildren and commonly provide grandparental childcare. Although skip-generation households remain uncommon in all three countries, in accordance with development levels they are by far most common in Thailand and least in Myanmar. Differences in economic development and fertility trends account for much of the observed differences in grandparental care by affecting grandchildren availability and migration of adult children. The chapter concludes by discussing the implications of changing grandparenting patterns for the renegotiation and reinterpretation of the intergenerational contract in the coming decades..