Elizabeth Warren, among others, has pointed out that the nomadic splintering of American families brought about by the mass migration to the west has stretched us to the breaking point. The "nuclear family" has not traditionally been father, mother and kids but father, mother, aunts, uncles, grandparents and kids. With the American tendency to move for work and opportunity, we end up losing the support structure that has brought us here.
Can't find the statistic right now, but as I recall, most of the world dies within 50km of where they were born. Americans, on the other hand, average 500km. That makes a tradition of rearing-via-grandparent pretty tricky.
My wife and I have friends. He's from Georgia, USA; she's white russian from Uzbekistan. When they had their first kid Grandma flew out from Tashkent and only goes back to visit. Her husband is still there. I seriously doubt Grand Dame Southern Bell would relocate to Samarkand if the shoe were on the other foot.
- Delia, a graduate of Rice University and Hastings School of Law, works 15 hours a day, which is normal in the investment banking industry. Each weekday, she's out the door at seven and doesn't get home until ten in the evening, when her kids are already in bed. Her husband's schedule is better, but he travels frequently: Sometimes, he goes to Shanghai for nine months at a time.
I don't think I could imagine having a job like that, let alone having that job and a family. You practically can't have a life outside your job with a schedule like that. It's no wonder grandparents lean in. Those are some huge sacrifices to make.