International | The generation game

The age of the grandparent has arrived

The ratio of grandparents to children is higher than ever before. That has big consequences

A family walk along an alley in Beijing on May 24, 2014. Chinese manufacturing activity saw a sharp improvement in May, hitting a five-month high, HSBC said on May 20, but it warned more government action was needed to kickstart the world's number two economy.    AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO        (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
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|Beijing, Dakar, Mexico City and Stockholm

The most saccharine song of 1980 was “There’s No One Quite Like Grandma”, performed by the St Winifred’s School choir from Stockport, England. It shot to the top of the British charts as kids everywhere gave it to granny for Christmas. “Grandma, we love you,” they sang. “Grandma, we do. Though you may be far away, we think of you.”

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The age of the grandma”

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