The main aim of this paper is to juxtapose the normative aspect of intergenerational solidarity with specific care practices against the backdrop of Poland’s public debate on social expectations, costs and changes needed in the system of pensions and social benefits offered to elderly citizens (the systemic context of intergenerational solidarity). The paper presents grandparents’ practices in offering care to their grandchildren and children’s practices in supporting their elderly parents. Such practices originate not as much from the emotional aspect of intergenerational solidarity as from culture-defined expectations of specific age categories, reinforced by unavailability of public care institutions. The analysis, based on qualitative and quantitative data, finds that intergenerational solidarity in Poland is a source of multiple tensions (including gender-related ones).