I have just picked up on some comments from David Cameron made at the Gingerbread annual conference (Gingerbread is the organisation for single parent families – its website is http://www.gingerbread.org.uk ).
He said society was ignoring the role of extended families and that houses and flats were often being built too small for people to enjoy a family meal, or for grandparents to stay if necessary.
Is this true? Is your son’s/daughter’s house too small for you to sit in for dinner or do you have to stay in a B&B down the road when you visit your grandchild, because there is no room at your child’s home?
I find this very fascinating in so many ways. If true, it does add an interesting dynamic to how you engage with your grandchildren.
And, if it is true, who is to blame? The house price bubble? The government for not building enough medium-sized social housing?
I would love to know your thoughts on this and whether there is anything your soon-to-be-published grandparents website, BeGrand.net, can do to help!
Squeeze in grandma!
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An interesting theme, Marc but how do we get people on board to discuss such themes? People will generate their own themes when we find them. Can we return to the "marketing nightmare" below? There are lots of possible partners out there who can spread the good word. Let us try to get talking to some potential partners first of all.
My thing about housing is, my dad moved in with us on a temporary basis in 2003, he's still here. We only have a 2 bedroomed house so he sleeps in the living room. He's been on housing waiting list since 2003 for local area and since 2000 for another area. In 10 years he's been shown one house on the top floor of a 4 storey tenament with no lift access to the floors. He is still fit and active at 68 years of age. He got a form in from the housing association the other day profiling 'priority' cases. His is a low priority case because he's not a single parent, not incapacitated and not an incomer to the UK seeking housing within proximity of new workplace. Those were the categories on the form.