Intergenerational Exchanges

One of the most salient aspects of the relationship between aging parents and their adult children is the nature and extent of exchanges of goods, services, and support. No matter what their age, parents and children occasionally need help; most of time, family members are asked first. Exchanges between parents and children are embedded in family and kinship relationships. The focus here will be on routine or normative kinds of exchanges between American parents and children, rather than on caregiving, which involves more systematic, extraordinary, and extensive help.