Three Generation Households

[ShadowHM]

Hi,
I think we need to distinguish multi-generational households by the circumstances under which they've come about. If they've come about because the people wished to live together, or if there are health reasons where one generation is caring for another (typically, one thinks of middle generation helping the older, but the opposite can well be true in cases of chronic illnesses), then all could be well. If the reason for a multi-generation household is the typical 'kid fails to make it in the world and moves back in with mom and dad, bringing his/her offspring along', then the picture is not as bright.

The summer ('70) I worked for the Census Bureau doing their crime survey, I ran across many multi-generation households (one had 5 generations, and not a male over the age of 14). Not one of them was a Brady Bunch.

--Pete

You make a good point, Pete.

However, even under the circumstance of ''kid fails to make it in the world and moves back in with mom and dad, bringing his/her offspring along', it seems to me more likely that the 'offspring brought along' may well be better off than they would be otherwise. However, since I have had little to no exposure to that particular family arrangement, I am in no position to assess. It could, I am sure, also be argued that the dysfunctional patterns established in the second generation would be simply reinforced for the third generation in the household.

By the way, I do believe that all families are dysfunctional, one way or another; it is just a matter of degree. I don't know any family that lives up to 'Brady Bunch' standards. ;)