Harrington Meyer quoted in NY Times piece on grandparenting, COVID-19

May 14, 2020

The New York Times

Madonna Harrington Meyer

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Center for Policy Research

Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health

Child & Elder Care

COVID-19

United States

The New York Times

Madonna Harrington Meyer

As the coronavirus pandemic stretches on and child care centers remain closed, many grandparents are split into two groups: those who are quarantined from their families and those who are isolating beside them, according to Madonna Harrington Meyer, University Professor of Sociology and author of Grandmothers at Work. Those providing child care can see tremendous benefits — more physical activity, a healthy emotional life, more socializing — but the additional stressors can also lead to burnout. "It’s simultaneously wonderful and too much," says Harrington Meyer. She was interviewed for the New York Times article "For Grandparents, Filling In for Child Care Can Be ‘Wonderful and Exhausting’." 05/14/20