Family Futures

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Intergenerational solidarity:

the springboard for societal well-being

Lynn Walsh, Co-chair, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on the Family and Director,

Marriage, Family and Human Development, Universal Peace Federation; and Florence Denmark, Co-chair,

NGO Committee on the Family and Main UN Representative for the International Council of Psychologists

dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

ntergenerational solidarity deserves our focus as it

impacts the very fabric of society, in that it relates to

the fundamental question of how human beings care

for one another. This includes many care-giving roles and

issues related to work-family balance, women joining

the workforce, unemployed people needing their parents’

support, grandparents caring for grandchildren, and adult

children caring for elderly parents. These issues carry with

them a host of economic ramifications; however the family

is more than this. The family provides the base for a flour-

ishing world – that is, well-adjusted, contributing citizens

and strong interpersonal ties that afford human belonging

and attachment.

Intergenerational solidarity is an important resource for social

and economic development and stability. But there is another

dimension to this often-discussed idea. Intergenerational rela-

tions – parent to child, child to parent, extended through the

generations – are only valuable in as much as they are strong

and genuine, and each member of the family is given the love,

care and values that they need to develop into a responsible,

caring human being.

As we look at the world today, we see frequent outbreaks

of violence between tribes, communities and families, long-

standing conflict between nations, unresolved poverty,

corruption, and gross violations of human rights such

as human trafficking. Despite great international efforts,

these problems are not disappearing. These dilemmas are

complicated and solutions must come from a multitude

of approaches, but we have to wonder if the challenges

related to development and social justice are but symp-

toms of deeper human realities. Repeatedly at play in these

problems there is a breakdown in essential human relation-

ships – a fundamental void in moral principle and absence

of human empathy.

Before we address intergenerational solidarity, we need

to consider an element of the human being that is perhaps

so close to us that we do not see it. As the saying goes,

“the heart of the human problem is the human heart.” If

people are perpetuating conflict, don’t we need to ask if we

can become ‘more whole’ as human beings and, if so, what

facilitates this? In light of some disappointing results in

addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),

and now during the twentieth anniversary of the Year of

the Family, perhaps it is time to look at improving human

potential as a core concern, and at the family as a critical

piece of the solution.

The MDGs address the essential needs of all human

beings, but there is another fundamental human need

required for human development and fulfilment: that of

stable human attachment and belonging, from birth through

every stage of one’s life. Developmental psychologists

have clearly established that the first primary relationship

in which an infant bonds with his or her mother is the

foundation for the development of an emotionally healthy

human being. A mother is primed with floods of maternal

hormones in order to have the greatest ability to provide

for her infant’s needs. The bond is established not only in

acts such as breast-feeding, but also, according to research

at the University of Montreal, in the unique response that

newborns have to their mother’s voice.

Fathers, too, bond

and reciprocate in essential ways with their baby. According

to Dr Brizendine’s research,

fathers are also primed during

the pregnancy by the pheromones of the pregnant mother,

which reduce testosterone and increase oxytocin. Thus a

father’s desire to protect and provide is enhanced through

a harmonious relationship with the mother. In this ideal

situation, the child is given the best beginning to life.

But clearly, this does not reflect the situation in many

relationships throughout the world. Actual parenting

situations may differ from the ideal. Many parents find

themselves in circumstances that they did not choose, and

certainly did not wish for, and yet provide heroically for

their children. Parenting may be carried out by grandpar-

ents, aunts, uncles, adoptive parents and many others.

Single parents must also be acknowledged. The inherent

beauty in these family relationships cannot be ignored and

these families deserve much support. However, the reality

is that every child stands to benefit from being raised in

a harmonious home with both father and mother, and as

such a two-parent household is the ideal for which we

strive in accordance with the best interests of the child.

The family provides a base of attachment and belong-

ing not only for children, but also for adults. Research on

happiness and overall health and success indicates that

individuals who can maintain secure and stable long-term

relationships have the advantage on all levels of human

well-being. Poverty, ill-health and lack of employment all