Lesley Stahl: Grandparents Are the Bank for Millennials
Baby boomers, who have recently been topped by millennials as the largest generation in the U.S., are more than just “the village” when it comes to raising children today. According to veteran journalist and grandmother Lesley Stahl, they are also the bank.
“Grandparents are taking over [paying for] the medical care, education, the daycare off their grandchildren,” the longtime ’60 Minutes’ correspondent told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
The award-winning journalist just released her new book “Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting.”
“Baby boomers … as we’ve gone forward are now grandmothers and grandfathers. Something like 30,000 new grandparents every week in the United States -- the economics of it are fascinating,” she said.
Stahl said grandparents today indeed provide more than just emotional support.
“Grandparents today, because they have more money as a cohort than their younger … the parents of these children -- are spending 7-times more on their grandchildren than grandparents did… 10-years ago,” she said.
She also said businesses and advertisers should be more focused on grandparents rather than millennials.
“We have the money. We are giving the millennials the money. So I think there is a lesson here,” she said.