Earlier this year, a professional couple who I know in Washington – I shall call them Paul and Nancy – discovered they were about to become grandparents for the first time. They were overjoyed and rushed to prepare. But they did not merely buy a teddy for their spare room. Instead, they solemnly enrolled themselves into a so-called “grandparenting class”, run at a Jewish centre in Maryland. For several hours they sat in a classroom with a motley selection of new grandparents, mostly high-powered professionals in their sixties and seventies, and heard an ultra-enthusiastic teacher outline all the tricks of the new (old) grandparent game.
今年早些时候，我认识的一对华盛顿专业人士夫妇——我称他们保罗(Paul)和南希(Nancy)——发现他们即将第一次成为祖父母。他们欣喜若狂，急忙去准备。但他们并不只是为自己空余的房间买一个玩具熊。相反，他们郑重地报名参加了一个所谓的“祖父母培训班”，这个班开设在马里兰州的一个犹太人中心。他们与一群背景各异（大都是年龄在六七十岁的成功专业人士）的新晋祖父母在教室里一坐数小时，聆听一位超级热情的老师讲述新（老）祖父母应该掌握的所有技巧。