By Ken Stern, Chair of Longevity Project
David Brook’s new article in the Atlantic entitled “The Nuclear Family Was A Mistake” raises important issues about how we organize the family in modern times. His article doesn’t explicitly mention the impact of longevity – and the rise of multigenerational families – on changing practices, but it easily could have. The cultural and economic dimensions of caring for elderly relatives – parents and grandparents – and in turn multiple generations pitching in for childcare and support are increasingly important, and will likely grow in importance as people live longer.
Brooks does describe some of the changing norms of younger people and how they are living longer with their parents. Starting in 2012, the number of adult children still living with their parents began to “inch up.” As Brooks correctly noted, this trend is often derided in popular culture but the practice makes practical sense: as life expectancy increases and educational costs rise, children necessarily stay more financially connected with their families for longer periods of time.
Brooks goes on to say that the trend towards adults living with their parents is “mostly healthy, impelled not just by economic necessity but by beneficent social impulses: polling data suggests that many young people are already looking ahead to helping their parents in old age” That observation is consistent with the research data generated by the most recent Longevity Project – Morning Consult poll last month. In our poll, we asked a number of questions that gauged the public’s attitude towards family obligations and consistently, across these questions, younger people expressed a more integrated view of family obligations. For instance, saving money to support adult children is considered a goal by only half of all respondents (41% yes -40% no), but a supermajority of younger respondents (55%-26%) indicated that supporting adult children was one of the reasons they would save money. And when asked what they expect to be doing at age 65, 48% of Generation Z indicate they expect to be taking care of their children, or their children’s families, compared to just 23% overall. It is a very different vision of the multi-generational family than the one envisioned and experienced by boomers.
Brooks’ article details some of the ways people are beginning to move past the traditional two-parent/2.5 children family ideal developed during the middle of last century. The polling suggests that younger people have an increasingly different view of family and we might soon see further changing norms around how families are constructed and operated. In an era in which people live longer, and are likely to have multiple generations of the family alive at the same time, this seems like an appropriate and necessary response to our changing environment.
For more perspectives on this topic, check out Porch.com’s article “Multigenerational Homes Are on the Rise. Here’s How to Make it Work for You” and the Washington Post’s “‘Together as a family’: Multigenerational living rises in pandemic”.