It would be nice to be able to describe Canadian grandchildren today in one word, but it would never do them justice or capture the vibrancy they bring to Canada’s social and economic and cultural fabric, not what they mean to their families and friends.
Statistics Canada doesn’t track the number of grandchildren in Canada, but they do report that Canadian grandparents have on average four grandchildren. They do report that in 2017 there were about 7.0 million grandparents. That is about 28 million Canadian grandchildren. That is more than the entire country of Australia.
So, who are these grandchildren we love unconditionally and cherish every minute we spend with them?
I had a look at our millennial grandchildren to better understand them from a grandparent’s perspective.
The most inclusive year of birth range I found was 1981- 1996. Interestingly, most researchers divide millennials into two groups because they are at different stages of their lives:
• older millennials (generally those over 33 – 40 years); and,
• younger millennials (25- 32 years)
What I found overall is that our millennial grandchildren are educated, motivated, tech-centric, in-debt, optimistic, concerned about the world around them and cherish relationships. I also found that understanding our millennial grandchildren helps us build a stronger relationship with them.
Here are some characteristics about millennial grandchildren:
Educated and career focused
Financially Optimistic
Food and entertainment enthusiasts
Family and friends centric
Active for societal change
Educated and career focused
Educated According to Statistics Canada, millennials are the educated generation with about 70% between 30-34 years old holding a post-secondary certificate., diploma or degree. This is higher than their parents’ generation where only 55% hold the same level of education.
They are carrying higher student debt. In 2016, 24.4% of young millennials carried student debt of approximately $12,000. This compares to 14.8% and $9,675 respectively for Generation-X families at the same age in 1999.
Career Focused: In 2021, older millennials now are generally established in their jobs while younger millennials are still in school or have recently graduated.
Developing a career is important to our grandchildren and they have a different approach to the workplace. LinkedIn reports that:
• 60% of millennials believe that a sense of purpose is part of the reason they chose to work at their current employer;
• 90% want to use their skills to create positive social impact; and
• 87% millennials believe that the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just financial performance.
But these idealistic viewpoints are facing hard truths in a competitive labour market. While older millennials are now in career jobs, younger millennials are adjusting to the gig economy.
Of interest, a study from the Angus Reid Institute 2019 survey, I found that one-in-five Canadian workers (17%) are currently engaged in the gig economy, while the same number (17%) have worked this type of work at some point in the past five years – but aren’t now.
The most common types of work in the gig economy the study found were in freelance office-based projects such as graphic design or computer programming and for-hire handiwork, babysitting and childcare.
Younger millennials are also looking to the internet to create extra income (sometimes referred to as ‘side hustle’). Angus Reid found they believe the biggest opportunities lie as a YouTuber (64%), Food Influencer on Instagram (56%), Fashion Influencer on Instagram (54%), E-sports gamer (54%) and Cryptocurrency Investor (47%).
Financially optimistic
Environics Research 2017 study found that “Fewer than half of Canadian millennials say they have enough money to live the kind of life they want, and many feel they are not doing as well as their parents did in their youth.” However, they seem optimistic about their financial opportunities. What they want most is job security leading to financial security and wealth generation. Sound familiar? That’s what we wanted when we were starting out.
Statistics Canada3 has reported that millennials are doing better than their parents when it comes to the economics of being able to meet their lifestyle needs and to build wealth i.e., accumulate assets like a home, a stock portfolio. By 2016, millennials aged 25 to 34 had accumulated a median net worth of $70,600—over one and half times the levels reached by Gen-Xers at the same age in 1999 ($42,800).
Further, interviews Global TV4 did with experts on the impact of COVID-19 on millennials and savings found that millennials have grown far more concerned about better managing their money over the last year than they were before the pandemic.
Eugene Levin of Semrush, an online visibility management platform, told Global News that millennials are using the pandemic downtime to plan out their finances to either mitigate their financial insecurity or improve their financial security.”
As a Canadian grandparent, I am encouraged by this. It tells me that our millennial grandchildren are taking responsibility for their financial stability. It also raises the question that as Canadian grandparents, should we be helping them financially if we can afford it?
Food and entertainment enthusiasts
Food
This reflects our millennial grandchildren’s passion for the “food experience”. FSR magazine.com5, a restaurant industry focused publication, explains that suggests that our millennial grandchildren may have the highest food IQ of any generation, thanks to technology. They want to understand what’s inside the food they put in their bodies, but also which foods provide value to their health.
Additionally, food for them is part of who they are or as they term it “part of their brand” and it is very much a social experience. Millennials say that the food they buy says a lot about them. Food is another way to express their creativity and sense of design. Food knowledge and experience are considered social currency.
Eating for them is considered a group event that is shared on social media. They enjoy a meal family with friends then with their Instagram. #Food is one of the most popular hashtags on Instagram, followed by #recipe, #instafood, #nomnom, #foodpic, and #yum.
They are more sophisticated in the food choices that other generations at that age. They love coffee for example, but want “gourmet” coffee i.e. cold brew, iced, or flavoured – and ethically sourced. They also use technology to engage in the loyalty programs and use mobile apps to save time ordering.
They are also the primary purchasers of carbonated drinks preferring flavoured sparkling waters considering it a healthy alternative to sodas.
COVID-19 has engaged them in their food passion allowing them to try new things. Their online purchasing behaviour makes it easy to access what they want, and curbside pick-up is their lifeline while restrictions are in place.
All of this ups the challenge when we have our millennial grandchildren over for dinner – to make a meal that is Instagram worthy! It also provides an opportunity to cook / bake with them – share their passion and bond over food.
Video Games
Video games are a big part of the millennial experience lifestyle and the impact of COVID has enhanced this not only to fill the time but to also stay connected.
To put this in perspective, more than 80% of those aged 18-38 play video games and in 2017, video games contributed: $3.7 billion to Canada’s GDP and 40,600 direct and indirect full-time jobs. Canadian gamers spend an average of 52 hours gaming each month.
The Entertainment Software Association of Canada noted in their 2018 industry study that 25-34-year-olds (millennials) spent the most on gaming subscriptions, in-game purchases – 35% of total spending or $471 million.
Family and friends centric
Our grandchildren have grown up with technology and depend on it for stay connected. It is part of their DNA. In doing so they have led the use of social media and only now are their parents and we as grandparents are catching up.
Pew Research reports that millennials increased their use of social media by only five percent whereas their parents increased from 64% to 76% and we grandparents increased our use by 19% (40% – 59%). We grandparents are slower on the uptake, but we are gaining quickly. Some researchers speculate this is because we see how social media helps us stay connected with family and friends including our millennial grandchildren.
It is no wonder we turn to our grandchildren to show us how to use our smartphones and connect with them through social media.
Marriage/ family
One of the defining characteristics of our millennial grandchildren is the diversity in their lives. They have grown up at a time when Canada’s cultural fabric has been enhanced by immigrants arriving from all over the world.
Our grandchildren’s generation is the most culturally diverse and inclusive that any other generation before them. As Canadian grandparents, we have seen this in their friends and their acceptance of different cultures through those friendships.
While relationships are important to Canadian millennials, they are choosing to marry and have children later in life. This may be because they are choosing to stay in school longer before starting the family chapter of their lives.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2019, our millennial granddaughters are becoming first-time mothers around the age of 29.4. This is the latest of increases in age seen since the 1959 when the average age was 23.2. 7
This has resulted in a growing trend of mixed unions either through marriage or common-law relationships. Even back in 2011 when Statistics Canada released data saying the proportion of couples in mixed unions was on the rise i.e., 2.6% of all couples in 1991, 3.1% of couples in 2001 and 3.9% in 2006 and 4.6% in 2011.
Active for societal change
For some, making an important contribution to society is important. According to Millennial Impact Report, they believe change is possible by working together, breaking down problems into manageable actions and speaking up for the causes they support. They also believe lives can be improved with the use of technology particularly in connecting with the people they want to help. For them, the cause is more important that the organization itself.
About 25% of Millennials has been actively engaged in a cause or issue in the past year, mostly involving social justice, the environment, politics, or health care. Such involvement is linked to education as well as social values.
Hugs for all grandchildren.
