In today’s society, family re-union is very crucial. However, due to some development, most grandchildren are not privileged to spend quality time with their grandparents. Hence, this essay will discuss the reasons for this development.
One of the primary factors of this evolution is the distance barrier. In today’s contemporary world, most families do not reside in the same location as their relatives which significantly hinder the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren. For example, many families in Nigeria relocate to other countries like United Kingdom, Canada and many other countries for different purposes such as international education for their children and many more. However, these stringent changes are detrimental to the relationship between family members.
Environmental factors are another determinant to this change. Many old parents prefer to live in the village whereas the environments are underdeveloped and not conducive enough for young children. Furthermore, people living in rural areas have limited accessibilities and lack social amenities such as water systems, standard health care and so on. For instance, recent research conducted highlighted that 50% death rates of adolescent in Niger State are due to poor medical facilities. In addition, in Ogun State, young children are prone to food poisoning as a result of unhealthy intake of water. Consequently, most parents would not want to expose their children to such danger.
In conclusion, re-uniting with other members of the family have a great advantage as it aids effective communication amongst family members, exposure to culture and traditions and often elevate positive emotions of grandparents towards their grandchildren. Nonetheless, different factors have restricted mutual relationships among families most especially between old parents and their grandchildren.
