Grandparental labor: theoretical and methodological basis of sociological study

The article presents a theoretical review of Russian and foreign literature on the grandparenting problems. The authors show how the available research results can contribute to the labor approach development to studying grandparenthood. Timeliness of raising the issue from such perspective is justified by the low birth rate in the country, the need to find new tools to stimulate it, importance of older generation’s awareness of the need to take care of their own grandchildren as an activity in demand by Russian society and the economy, which has a positive impact on the indicators of demographic (through indicators of fertility and life expectancy) and overall socio-economic development of the country. The purpose of the research is to develop theoretical and methodological foundations for sociological study of grandparental labor. The scientific novelty is connected with the substantiation of the author’s theoretical and methodological approach to the study of parenthood from the point of view of its labor essence, which allows using labor categories in the sociological study of this phenomenon. The proposed methodological principles are as follows: a differentiated study of grandparental labor by the subjects of this labor - grandparents, consideration of regional differences in grandparental labor, the study of the prevalence ofgrandparental labor in society as one of the most important elements of the index of active longevity, the application of an interdisciplinary approach to the study ofgrandparental labor. The developed set of empirical indicators of sociological research of grandparental labor is aimed at studying its content, intra-family interaction in the process of its implementation, ideas about stimulating this type of labor, readiness and attitude to grandparental labor of its actors, ideas about the results of grandparental labor. We see the continuation of the research in the approbation of the developed methodological tools and conducting an empirical sociological study aimed at a comprehensive study ofgrandparental labor.