The Situation and Influencing Factors of Chinese Older People Taking Care of Their Grandchildren

Based on the Longitudinal Survey Data on the Situation of Urban and Rural Elderly of China in 2006,this paper finds that the older groups with younger age,better physical health,higher educational attainments,middle-level economic income are more likely to help to care their grandchildren.Compared to the older people in urban areas,those living in rural areas face much heavier burden of grandchildren caring.Older people are more likely to help their adult children with lower income to care their children.The behavior is not influenced by the economic support of adult children to them or not.The empirical results show that grandchildren caring could be understood as an unselfish contribution to family members and an altruism behavior in family.