I was reading how many Americans have been putting off having children due to the economy. My children are a case in point. My youngest son, 25, says three more years. He has been married four years and planned then to have their first within 5 years. Potential first time grandparents don’t like to wait, and that includes me. I am 64, soon to be 65, and my 91 year old mother is yet to become a great grandmother.
Talking with my other son, 31, today about his new interest in life also spurred my interest in being a grandfather. His new friend is about three years younger and is in a on-going relationship with another man that my son describes as simply ‘stoic’ meaning more or less…Is that are there is?....and this young lady wants to break up with the old boyfriend.
Since my son and her are very much ‘in like’ with each other I encouraged my son to tread carefully and see what happens. Of course, my son knows about my long time directive that he has to follow the family tradition of having a son when the male is 33 and one third. My son was born when I was 33 1/3, I was born when my dad was that age as well as his dad when he was born.
It made me think…what age does the average American male becomes a grandfather? Enter the search engines…
http://www.grandparents.com/gp/content/newsoftheday/news/article/the-power-of-the-grandparent-economy.htmlThe average age of first-time grandmothers
in the United States is 50; for first-time grandpas, the average age is 54. Overall, 54 percent of grandparents (a total of 38 million) are younger than 65.
My kids are sixth generation Kansan and like most Kansans are part or mostly Germanic in their heritage. Much of that heritage is from immigration from nearly 300 hundreds years ago to as recent as 125 years and from every corner of Germany...west, south-west, south, southwest, east, north, etc. Interestingly, my youngest son is married to a gal of about half German and the other son's friend has a Germanic name also. My kids tend to let others become interested in them first, so I don't think they are conspicuously seeking others with Germanic names. What is going on in Europe? One often hears that Europe is in a birth balance problem, so naturally I was surprised to see this link in the news....
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100901-29533.htmlThe number of childless Germans who expressed the wish to start a family jumped nine percentage points in just two years, the survey conducted by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion and released by the ministry this week found. This year 52 percent of the childless poll participants said they “definitely” planned on at least on baby, up from 43 percent in 2008.
Young men in particular showed an increased will to reproduce, with 48 percent saying they “definitely want children” - up from 37 percent in 2008, the study said.
Just 20 percent of the childless poll participants said they had ruled out the prospect of kids, about the same number as in 2008.
Meanwhile the majority of Germans (78 percent), said that family was the most important thing in their lives, ahead of health, financial security, and friendships.
I tell my kids all the time...family is the most important thing....hmm!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8468185.stmRussia has bucked a long-term trend of population decline by recording its first annual increase in 15 years
Sorry for the humor...Here is a possible reason why....
http://fashionindie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/sexy-russian-army-babe-uniform.jpg
