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Picture of Linn Alenius Wallin

Linn Alenius Wallin

Postdoctoral fellow and lecturer

Picture of Linn Alenius Wallin

‘Having It All’ and ‘Needing More’ : Swedish Parents Negotiating Care Between Children and Grandparents

Author

  • Terese Anving
  • Sara Eldén
  • Linn Alenius Wallin

Summary, in 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 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.

Department/s

  • Department of Sociology
  • School of Social Work

Publishing year

2025-12-17

Language

English

Publication/Series

NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Anthropology, Demography and Criminology)

Status

Epub

Project

  • Intergenerational care in Sweden. A study of relationships, commitments, and practices of care in everyday family life.

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0803-8740