Grandparents step in (and sometimes step back) as Millennial parents struggle with raising kids
Nov 23, 2025, 5:00 AM
Moms and dads are feeling the pinch when it comes to raising kids, and more and more are leaning on their own parents for support.
Earlier this week, Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson posted on X that she will not need financial support from her parents to cover the high costs of childcare going forward.
This year, Washington was listed as having one of the highest daycare center prices in the country. According to the American Society on Aging, more than two million grandparents across the country are primary caregivers to their grandchildren.
In Washington, 53,000 children are being raised by grandparents. In Pierce County, more than 35,000 grandparents and other relatives are raising children. Besides financial support, some millennial parents are leaning on their boomer parents for part-time, and sometimes full-time, childcare.
Earlier this week, Cardi B was venting about a new houseguest who’s been getting on her nerves ever since she gave birth to her fourth child. It’s her own mother…
“You know what my mom did, y’all? She threw away all of my cookies, all of my snacks. Like she threw them away,” Cardi B said in a social media post. “‘Oh, you’re not supposed to be having these snacks here.’ The kids are gonna be eating all of those snacks.”
It also appeared grandma switched things up for some of the grandkids.
“The other day, Kulture was crying because she didn’t want to eat her rice and peas,” Cardi B continued. “And she just looked at me like, ‘You’re not gonna tell her nothing?’ And I just looked at her like, ‘I can’t, I’m sorry.'”
Perhaps some grandparents are overzealous. But there are also some who are less interested in helping. A 2023 report by Business Insider revealed that some grandparents don’t want to spend their golden years as caregivers for their grandkids.
Some millennial parents said they feel abandoned by their boomer parents.
A 71-year-old grandfather told ABC News that he lives in a retirement community in Mexico, miles away from his grandkids, saying he earned his respite after decades of caring for his own children.
“I do feel a little bit guilty that I’m not more present with the kids, sort of in a personal, in-person relationship,” he said. “But I think, like a lot of people in my generation, we do feel a financial responsibility.”
Experts said communication and managing expectations are key to figuring out how much parents can afford to lean on grandparents, whether it’s financial support or childcare.
