The parents of one's mother and father.

Grandparents can play an important role in children's lives, providing love and comfort, as well as stability and a sense of family identity. There are about 50 million grandparents in the United States today, and they are playing an increasingly important role in American families. Modern medical advances have given grandparents better health and longer life expectancy, allowing them to participate more fully in the lives of their grandchildren, leading to greater closeness and a larger impact on their lives. In the past, many adults didn't live long enough to spend much, if any, time with their grandchildren. Today, for the first time in history, adults in this country usually have the chance to know most of their grandchildren, and children usually know most of their grandparents. In 1900 there was only a 25% chance that all four grandparents of a newborn child would...