Three Generations in One House

It’s 7:00 in Boston. Mark is preparing the breakfast while his wife Suzy is helping their fifteen-year-old son Alfred and nine-year-old daughter Emily to get ready for school. Their youngest daughter Jennifer who is four years old, is in the living room watching her favourite cartoon. Her grandfather is sitting on the sofa watching his granddaughter. Grandmother is upstairs tidying the children’s rooms.

In Boston, it’s common for three generations of a family to live in the same home. As Alfred explains, living together has its advantages and disadvantages. “It’s really nice to live with my grandparents in the same house. My mum and dad work and they don’t usually come home before eight. It’s nice to see someone at home when I come back. Grandma is a great cook and she bakes something for us every day. No one can make better cakes than her. Grandpa is really old but he is very clever. He helps us with our homework. Best of all is when our parents don’t let us do things, like staying out late with friends, my grandparents back me up. It’s nice to have their support.”

Alfred also talks about the disadvantages. “There are only two bathrooms in our house and sometimes I have to wait for a long time to use the bathroom. Grandma can’t hear very well so it is really loud when she is watching TV or listening to music. It is not always easy to communicate with my grandparents because they don’t understand us. When I told my parents that I need to but a new I-phone my grandfather offered to give his phone. Can you believe that! It doesn’t even have internet connection.” Alfred says he tries to understand them because their childhood was nothing like his.

Alfred’s mum Suzy says she is really happy with living with her parents. “There is always someone to take care of the kids and cook. It sometimes gets annoying because they don’t like saying “no” to the kids. There are only a few things that people need to be careful with when there are three generations in one house. You must make sure that everyone has their own room. You really need to try to understand each other. You should talk when there is a problem or the problems get bigger and bigger.”