Gen Xers Are Being Called The 'Worst Grandparents' — They Say 'Hard To Do The Doting Grandparent Thing When You Know You Have To Work Till Like 80'

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When most people picture grandparents, the image is pretty universal: doting retirees who are quick to babysit, slip a $20 bill into a birthday card, and proudly cheer from the bleachers at Little League games. But for many in Generation X — born between 1965 and 1980 — that picture doesn't quite line up with reality.

A TikTok video calling Gen X the "worst grandparents" made the leap to Reddit, where the debate really caught fire. Millennials in particular said they were baffled that their Gen X parents, now just aging into grandparenthood, weren't eager to help with childcare.