I had a neat talk with someone today. They life in a multi-generational household. This used to be the norm in the world until the industrial revolution. Grandparents, parents and kids all under the same roof. The way we are set up now with the zoning laws et. al. I don't think you could go back to this mode of living. And maybe we lost something when we moved off this model. (Says the guy who moved 2000 miles from his parents)I've got neighbors that are living 6 adults and 1 kid in 1300 square feet.
I am legitimately looking at houses that have space for my mother-in-law. And father-in-law, when he's in town... but I think she's going to need more work. For the record, the mortality rate of children in European cities prior to the French Revolution was on the order of 60%.
You know what they call live-in grandparents now a days? Free Day Care. Then you add in the SSI they get and you have a full time live in caretaker who helps out around the house while mom and dad work. The infant mortality rate in the USA in the 1930's was 50% or so. In 1930 alone there were 140,000 or so registered deaths of infants under 1 year of age. Vaccinations, hospital births, and better nutrition ended that nightmare.For the record, the mortality rate of children in European cities prior to the French Revolution was on the order of 60%.