Grandparents are the parents of a person's father or mother â€"
paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who
is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents,
eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic
great-great-grandparents, thirty-two genetic
great-great-great-grandparents, etc. In the history of modern
humanity, around 30,000 years ago, the number of modern humans who
lived to be a grandparent increased. It is not known for certain what
spurred this increase in longevity but largely results in the improved
medical technology and living standard, but it is generally believed
that a key consequence of three generations being alive together was
the preservation of information which could otherwise have been lost;
an example of this important information might have been where to find
water in times of drought.In cases where parents are unwilling or
unable to provide adequate care for their children (e.g., death of the
parents, financial obstacles, marriage problems), grandparents often
take on the role of primary caregivers. Even when this is not the
case, and particularly in traditional cultures, grandparents often
have a direct and clear role in relation to the raising, care and
nurture of children. Grandparents are second-degree relatives and
share 25% genetic overlap.A step-grandparent can be the step-parent of
the parent or the step-parent's parent or the step-parent's
step-parent (though technically this might be called a
step-step-grandparent). The various words for grandparents at times
may also be used to refer to any elderly person, especially the terms
gramps, granny, grandfather, grandmother, nan, maw-maw, paw-paw and
others which families make up themselves.When used as a noun (e.g.,
"... a grandparent walked by"), grandfather and grandmother are
usually used, although forms such as grandma/grandpa,
granny/granddaddy or even nan/pop are sometimes used. When preceded by
"my ..." (e.g., "... my grandpa walked by"), all forms are common
(anywhere from "... my grandfather ..." to "... my Gramps ..."). All
forms can be used in plural, but Gramps (plural Gramps) is rare.
paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who
is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents,
eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic
great-great-grandparents, thirty-two genetic
great-great-great-grandparents, etc. In the history of modern
humanity, around 30,000 years ago, the number of modern humans who
lived to be a grandparent increased. It is not known for certain what
spurred this increase in longevity but largely results in the improved
medical technology and living standard, but it is generally believed
that a key consequence of three generations being alive together was
the preservation of information which could otherwise have been lost;
an example of this important information might have been where to find
water in times of drought.In cases where parents are unwilling or
unable to provide adequate care for their children (e.g., death of the
parents, financial obstacles, marriage problems), grandparents often
take on the role of primary caregivers. Even when this is not the
case, and particularly in traditional cultures, grandparents often
have a direct and clear role in relation to the raising, care and
nurture of children. Grandparents are second-degree relatives and
share 25% genetic overlap.A step-grandparent can be the step-parent of
the parent or the step-parent's parent or the step-parent's
step-parent (though technically this might be called a
step-step-grandparent). The various words for grandparents at times
may also be used to refer to any elderly person, especially the terms
gramps, granny, grandfather, grandmother, nan, maw-maw, paw-paw and
others which families make up themselves.When used as a noun (e.g.,
"... a grandparent walked by"), grandfather and grandmother are
usually used, although forms such as grandma/grandpa,
granny/granddaddy or even nan/pop are sometimes used. When preceded by
"my ..." (e.g., "... my grandpa walked by"), all forms are common
(anywhere from "... my grandfather ..." to "... my Gramps ..."). All
forms can be used in plural, but Gramps (plural Gramps) is rare.
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