Abstract This study explores the biographical and socio-historical factors that influence caregiving experiences of Indian ‘flying’ grandparents, who fly in and fly out of Australia to care for their grandchildren. Thirty-one grandparents were purposely recruited or snowball sampled. Data collected through in-depth interviews was coded and themed using steps of interpretative phenomenological analysis. This was followed by reinterpretation of data through the lens of life course theory, which revealed meaningful insights by situating grandparents’ subjective caregiving experiences within a broader context of societal norms, cultural obligations, and structural constraints. Three key themes emerged as influential in grandparents’ caregiving experiences. These included the connections between grandparents’ past experiences and their current realities, the typical and atypical later-life transitions, and structural factors that affected their wellbeing. The results showed that education levels, socio-economic and marital status of grandparents differently influenced their caregiving experiences in a transnational setting. Caregiving provided a sense of purpose, happiness, joy, and satisfaction, but it also had negative affects such as psychological distress, burnout, loss of autonomy, and social positioning. Flying grandparents are forgotten both by their home and receiving countries, which heightens their vulnerability as ageing in place depends more on political will rather than personal choice. This research shows that they are neither a liability nor a drain on resources as is reflected through Australia’s ageist migration policy. Their contribution to the Australian economy and in relieving overburdened childcare systems needs to be recognised to protect their independence and reduce their risk of poverty, abuse and neglect in old age.
Bhatia et al. (Fri,) studied this question.