Whereas grandparenthood has been the focus of a growing body of work in the social sciences, the transition into the grandparent role is greatly understudied. After a brief discussion of how recent demographic change has affected the prevalence, timing, and sequencing of the transition on a societal level, this article reviews existing work on the entry into grandparenthood. A third section identifies unexplored issues related to the personal and interpersonal significance of the transition. The importance of timing on the dimensions of biographical time and family time is stressed. Finally, the relationship between expectations and actual role experience is discussed.
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