Fewer U.S. grandparents taking care of grandchildren: survey

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Fewer U.S. grandparents were living with and taking care of grandchildren, and there was a decline in young children going to preschool and more people stayed put in their homes in the first part of the 2020s compared with the last part of the 2010s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released on Thursday.

The latest figures from the most comprehensive survey of American life compare the years 2014-2018 and 2019-2023, timeframes before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the virus' spread. The American Community Survey data show "how lives were changed and family relationships altered by the pandemic and other occurrences like the opioid crisis," reported The Associated Press about the development.

The survey of 3.5 million households covers more than 40 topics, including ancestry, fertility, marital status, commutes, veterans status, disability and housing.

"The decrease in grandparents' taking care of their grandchildren is most likely because opioid-related deaths stabilized and then declined during the more recent timeframe since substance abuse is a leading reason grandparents find themselves raising grandchildren," noted the report.