ABSTRACT
Grandparental love is as much an expression of generativity as is parental love, but it is both enhanced and constrained by the special nature of the relationship of the grandparent and grandchild. The wide age gap between them and the fact that the grandparent is at a different stage of her life than when she was a parent provide the relationship with a kind of richness not present in relationships between those closer in age. The relationship is, necessarily, mediated by the child’s parents, but this fact does not preclude a normatively distinct and significant relationship with the grandchild on the part of the grandparent.
