Experiencing Grandparenthood: An Asian Perspective

Within the context of an ageing Asia, the growing numbers of grandparents and the important roles they play within the family propel the need for a book devoted to their experiences. This book, with its focus on the Asian perspective, is pertinent and timely as Asia has undergone socio-cultural, economic and family transformations as a result of modernization, urbanization and demographic aging in the last century. In filling a gap in the current literature, the volume seeks to answer the following questions, what is the state of grandparenting in the Asian context today? How do the roles and functions of grandparents differ depending on rural-urban differences, their relations with daughters and daughter-in-laws, and changing health of the grandparents? The book is a multidisciplinary, cross-national and inter-generational publication, lending voice to the aging grandparents in six countries i.e. China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The volume’s strength lies precisely in its rich body of qualitative, three-generational data, including grandparents, link parents and grandchildren. Gerontologists, social researchers, anthropologists, social workers, policy makers, professionals working with aging families and family caregivers form the target audience of this rich Asian volume.

Associate Professor Kalyani K. MEHTA

Kalyani K. MEHTA is Head of the Gerontology Programme, at University of SIM, Singapore. Her research interests are ageing-related policies and services, family caregivers, cross-cultural studies, grandparenthood, intergenerational ties and their impact on the well-being of older people. Her rich experience in the field of social gerontology spans the past 20 years. Dr Mehta’s  Ph.D thesis on “The Dynamics of Adjustment of the very old in Singapore” started the passion for this specialisation. Although most of her research is conducted in Singapore, she has extensive knowledge of the Asia Pacific region. Her numerous publications include two co-authored books “Understanding and Counselling Older Persons” and “Ageing in Singapore: Service Needs and the State”, six edited books, and more than 40 papers in international journals on social gerontology and social work. Dr Mehta was Member of Singapore Parliament (2007-2009) by nomination, and during her term she spoke on ageing policies and services.

She is President of the Singapore Association of Social Workers and council member of the Singapore Gerontological Society. She is associate editor of the Singaporean journal “Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development” and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work and Asian Journal of Gerontology. Internationally, Dr Mehta has served as consultant to United Nations, Asian Development Research Forum, and is currently advisor to the Asia Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

Associate Professor Leng Leng THANG

Leng Leng THANG is a socio-cultural anthropologist with research interest in ageing, intergenerational programming, intergenerational relationships and gender. She graduated with PhD in Anthropology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Japanese Studies and member of steering committee of the health research cluster at Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.

She writes extensively on aging and intergenerational issues focusing mainly on Asia (especially Japan and Singapore), and is the author of “Generations in Touch: Linking the old and young in a Tokyo neighbourhood” (Cornell University Press, 2001) and co-author of “Ageing in Singapore: Service needs and the state” (Routledge, 2006). She is active in promoting intergenerational interaction and is vice chair of the International Consortium for Intergenerational Programs. She is also associate editor of  Journal of Intergenerational Relationships (Taylor and Francis). She provides consultancy on intergenerational programs and aging related issues for various government and social service agencies in Singapore and is currently president of Singapore Fei Yue Family Service Centre.