6 Benefits of Spending Time with Grandchildren

From passing down wisdom and family traditions, providing financial support, or helping with childcare, there are many ways that grandparents enrich the lives of their grandchildren. Studies have shown that children benefit both physically and emotionally from spending time with their grandparents.

But what about the grandparents? Do they also reap rewards from interactions with their grandchildren? The answer is a resounding yes.

Here are six benefits grandparents can experience from being around or caring for their grandchildren and how these benefits can positively impact health, well-being, and longevity. In the world’s blue zones regions, places renowned for residents who not only live longer but experience a high quality of life right up to the end, grandparents play an important role in family life. Let’s begin in Sardinia, Italy – the first location designated as a blue zones region.

When grandparents and grandchildren live in close proximity

In Sardinia, older adults are an important part of the family unit and play an important role in the community. Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner has said, “And long before people were talking about the social determinants of health, I attributed Sardinians’ longevity to their propensity for keeping their aging parents nearby – extending life expectancy for both grandparents and grandchildren.”

Sardinia has 10 times more centenarians per capita than the U.S. And it’s quite common there to see multiple generations living in harmony within a single home. When there are younger children in the home, grandparents help take care of them. In turn, when these elders later need assistance themselves, they are lovingly cared for at home by their children and grandchildren until the end of their lives, rather than being institutionalized. 

Research into the grandmother effect, a theory that has been studied since the 1960s, has shown that children who live with or have frequent contact with one or more of their grandparents have lower rates of mortality and disease.

 

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There is also growing research that shows how time with grandchildren can play a role in keeping older adults healthy, happy, and living longer.

6 benefits of spending time with grandchildren

Better physical health

Being a grandparent can increase physical activity, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Geriatrician Kenneth Koncilja, M.D. said, “Older adults who are spending time with younger children, especially helping to care or babysit, tend to be more active, get more steps per day, more exercise.”

This kind of activity has a lot of health benefits, from lowering blood sugar and blood pressure to reducing stress hormones.

Blue Zones research has shown that moving naturally throughout the day is something the longest-lived people in the original blue zones have in common. They live in environments that encourage them to move without thinking about it, such as growing gardens, avoiding mechanical conveniences for housework and yard work, or even helping to care for children in their families.

Less depression and loneliness

Many older adults suffer from loneliness and isolation. But grandparenting has been proven to reduce both, the Cleveland Clinic said. It can even reduce symptoms of depression.

A 2013 Boston College study, which looked at relationships between grandparents and their adult grandchildren, found that both experienced psychological benefits. Sara Moorman, a sociologist who led the study, said, “We found that an emotionally close grandparent-adult grandchild relationship was associated with fewer symptoms of depression for both generations.”

Sharper minds

Grandparenting can help keep the mind sharp. Although there’s been limited research into the topic so far, a 2021 study published in Psychiatry Investigation found that caring for grandchildren can have a positive effect on older adults’ cognition. 

Another Australian study published in the Menopause journal concluded that women who cared for their grandchildren one day per week scored higher on cognitive tests than women who didn’t. The women tasked with caregiving for their grandchildren also had a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. However, it’s worth noting that there was a fine line between the positive effects of caring for grandchildren in a more traditional grandparenting role, and grandparents who had to care for their grandchildren full-time. Those who had to care for their grandchildren five or more days per week actually showed diminished cognitive scores in the study.

Happiness

Interacting with grandchildren can make older adults happier and research proves it. For example, the Cleveland Clinic study showed that being around grandchildren can increase levels of feel-good hormones such as dopamine and oxytocin.

A study at Emory University, which focused exclusively on grandmothers, showed actual changes in women’s brains when shown photographs of their grandchildren, indicating a close bond and strong feelings of empathy toward the children. According to James Rillings, the study’s lead author, “They get to enjoy the experience of being a grandmother much more than they did being parents” because they don’t have the same financial and time constraints they did then. 

Greater sense of purpose

Caring for and spending time with grandchildren can improve an older adult’s sense of purpose, a characteristic that has been linked to longevity in the original blue zones regions. An 11-year Columbia University study, funded by the NIH and led by Dr. Robert Butler, came to a similar conclusion. It found that healthy people between ages 65 to 92 who had clear goals or purpose lived longer and better lives than those who did not.

Increased lifespan

A 2017 German study published in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior found a definitive link between caregiving for grandchildren and health and longevity. Grandparents who regularly provided periodic care, not primary care, for their grandchildren lived five years longer than grandparents who didn’t provide care. The caregiving group also had a one-third lower risk of dying over a 20-year period.

“This pattern suggests there is a link not only between helping and beneficial health effects, but also between helping and mortality, and specifically between grandparental caregiving and mortality,” the study said.

Tips for enjoying time with grandchildren

There are many indoor and outdoor activities that grandparents can enjoy with grandchildren. If you are a grandmother or grandfather, here are some ideas for making the most of time spent with your grandchildren.

• Read to them – Younger children love to listen to stories, and reading to them is a good way to bond and nurture their minds.
• Play games – From board games and card games to chess and video games, playing games together is a great way to have fun and create memories with your grandchildren, regardless of age.
• Attend a sporting event together – Whether your grandchild is a teen or adult, watching your favorite team or sport in person with them can be a perfect way to bond.
• Teach them to cook – Your grandchildren will learn a valuable life skill, while you get to pass down your favorite recipes and cooking traditions.
• Plant a garden together – Gardening not only boosts physical activity, but it’s an ideal way to teach children about plants and how to grow healthy food.
• Share a craft or hobby – Whether you love to crochet, paint or carve wood, passing down your hobby or craft to your grandchildren can be rewarding for both you and them.

Lisa Oliver Monroe is a journalist and author of a travel book about  America’s Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown). Her writing has been published by Virginia Living, Boomer Magazine, Kirkus Media, Advance for Nurses, and Colonial Williamsburg,  among many others.