Slave Grandparent Syndrome
The slave grandparent syndrome is considered a new disease of the 21st century. The WHO (World Health Organization) even recognizes it as an abuse of the role of grandparents, considering it another type of abuse.
In fact, grandparents take on the education and care of children with great satisfaction. They do this as if they are parents again for the second time, but with a more rewarding and caring nature.
Over time, family networks are expanded and family loads and stress multiply. Grandchildren grow and, with this, so do their needs and the responsibilities of those who take care of them and assist them daily.
Grandparents in the 21st century
Today, the panorama of family relationships in our society has changed profoundly. Just a few decades ago, being a grandfather before the age of fifty was quite common.
Today, however, due to the fact that motherhood is increasingly being postponed, becoming a grandfather in the late 70s has become the most common.
Undoubtedly, grandparents’ relationships with grandchildren can be very different from each other. They will depend on several factors, such as the relationship with the children, geographic proximity, the child’s personality and, of course, cultural aspects.
Grandparents, in some families, may play an important role in raising grandchildren. Depending on circumstances or family, grandparents are needed occasionally or systematically.
When it comes to occasional or occasional moments, there are no major disturbances in grandparents’ family life. However, when your help is constantly asked for, a situation of real stress can arise.
What is the slave grandparent syndrome?
The slave grandparent syndrome is a serious disease that affects men and women who are subject to physical and emotional overload, and that causes serious and progressive imbalances, both somatic and psychic.
For the cardiologist Antonio Guijarro, it is very common, especially in adult women with direct responsibilities as housewives, assumed voluntarily. This is because these women are characterized by having a strict sense of order, responsibility, dignity and modesty.
The grandparents’ sense of commitment
Psychologist Encarnación Liñán proposes some answers about why grandparents feel so committed to this situation, reaching the point of assuming it as if it were their own.
For her, education and the values learned would be the main reason why grandparents feel responsible for the continuous support for their grandchildren, as well as for family problems. In addition, she believes that this is a way of continuing to feel useful, an aspect that often worries the elderly.
Consequences of the slave grandparent syndrome: how does it affect health?
Encarnación Liñán distinguishes between two types of health manifestations of the grandfather or grandmother who go through this situation: physical and emotional.
Among the physical manifestations, Liñán recognizes arterial hypertension, paroxysmal alterations such as suffocation, tachycardia, dizziness, etc., and weakness and indisposition, which translate into fatigue.
On the other hand, in relation to emotional manifestations, she speaks of a general discomfort of grandparents. They experience anxiety when they cannot respond effectively to the situation, as well as sadness and despondency, caused by lack of motivation for their own ‘I’.
All these feelings only accentuate their suffering, as they feel guilty about their discomfort.
Grandparents, a great support that must be taken care of.
Currently, there are several factors for this overload situation to occur. In fact, the economic crisis has led many families to depend, in large part, on their grandparents’ financial resources.
Thus, grandparents became a great support for many families. While the parents are working, it is much cheaper and more convenient to leave the children with their grandparents.
For all these reasons, we must find a balance between the responsibilities we give to grandparents and their capacity. In this way, we avoid causing emotional and physical overloads that can definitely harm your health.
