by Maddy Pappas

Source: Pexels (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)

The bond between grandparents and grandkids has been written and spoken about for generations. While this bond lays the groundwork for a lifetime of love and support, there are actually physical and mental benefits at play as well.

In fact, spending time with grandkids is highly beneficial to the mental and physical health of grandparents. Studies have shown that regular interactions with grandkids not only help grandparents live longer, but it helps keep them mentally and physically active.

Whether playing hide and seek, engaging in a board game, or attending a piano or ballet recital, the benefits are seemingly endless for grandparents and the same can be said for grandkids.

While grandparents benefit from these interactions, grandkids also experience increased emotional intelligence. This just goes to highlight the power of the connection shared between a grandparent and their grandchild.

Physical benefits of time spent with the grandkids

As we age it’s quite tempting to go into a shell when it comes to physicality. Rather than risk having a fall or pulling a muscle, some older individuals retreat indoors and stay away from physical exercise.

However, remaining sedentary can have negative implications on overall health. Heart health decreases, stamina vanishes, and muscles become weak. However, physical activities provide numerous advantages to health and that’s why it’s important to engage with grandkids.

Bundles of seemingly endless energy, an afternoon with the grandkids is almost akin to a workout. Importantly, because grandparents want to spend time with their grandkids, it won’t feel like a workout at all!

Improved fitness

When it comes to spending time with the grandkids, the list of activities is seemingly endless, and so are the associated benefits to physical health. For example, running around playing hide and seek can help increase stamina levels (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Bending down to play with certain toys helps to improve mobility levels. Something that will help older individuals feel more confident on their two feet. Additionally, picking up grandkids for a cuddle helps to build arm and leg strength.

All of these little tasks help to keep grandparents physically active. While improving heart health, it also improves mobility and stamina. This will help grandparents exponentially in everyday life, giving back much-needed confidence.

Immune support

The vast range of physical benefits when spending time with grandchildren is quite surprising. For example, one of the health benefits of this variety of caregiving is a stronger immune system.

This is mainly because, when people are exposed to touch, there is a decrease in the inflammatory cells and an increase in white blood cells. In short, giving a grandchild a cuddle or holding hands as they walk to school actually boosts support to the immune system (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Increased longevity

Recent studies are also beginning to find that grandparents who spend time with grandchildren tend to live longer, healthier lives. This is mainly because physical activity helps keep the body fit and firing.

Researchers also suggest that findings indicating that grandparents who babysit grandkids live longer than adults of the same age without child-related responsibilities are due to mental reasons such as having a purpose (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

The mental benefits of contact with grandchildren

While time spent with grandkids greatly benefits physical health, there are also many benefits to mental health. This is heartening when you consider that an Australian Seniors survey (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) found 56% of people were more focused on spending quality time with family post pandemic.

Remain mentally sharp

Recent research studied 120 grandmothers and found that those who helped care for grandchildren one day per week scored highly on memory and other mental tests. It just goes to show that all those hours spent reading children’s books at bedtime was more than worth it!

This is largely due to the fact that interaction works to stimulate the nerve pathways to the brain. By engaging with grandchildren, grandparents are actively improving cognitive functions, all of which help keep the brain active and sharp.

Lowered risk of depression

The love shared between grandchild and grandparent is something else. In fact, this love is so enduring that grandparents who spend quality time with grandkids have previously reported decreased instances of depressive episodes.

Social interaction, combined with an emotional connection can work wonders on the human psyche. Additionally, such a connection can really help to put life into perspective. All of which help to lessen mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

A sense of purpose

While retirement may seem like the promised land, losing the sense of purpose that work provides can be quite disarming. However, replacing work with quality time spent alongside the grandkids can give retired grandparents a new sense of purpose.

By feeling needed and responsible for someone, grandparents experience improved-self esteem. These feelings significantly improve mental health and can provide an overall lust for life.

Fosters social connections

As we age, feelings of loneliness are common. With the children moved out of home, work winding down, or finished completely, opportunities for social interaction can feel increasingly limited.

Having a grandchild to talk to on the phone and meet in person can combat these feelings. Grandparents will often find that taking a trip to the park or sharing a babycino in the cafe can instigate conversations with others.

Encourages further learning

When you’re a grandparent you’re always learning new things. Whether it’s a new song, TikTok dance, game, or piece of lingo, there is always something new and interesting to discover.

This in turn means that the brain is always active and better still, learning. This type of brain engagement can help keep symptoms of memory loss at bay (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre). Further still, each time your grandchild comes over there is an opportunity to learn a new skill.

How grandchildren benefit

While grandparents undoubtedly benefit from time spent with their grandkids, the positive effects go both ways. In fact, forming an emotional connection with grandma and grandpa has been shown to benefit grandkids well into adulthood.

Researchers based in the UK found that children who spent time with their grandparents were at a decreased risk for developing emotional and behavioural issues. In fact, those grandchildren actually displayed heightened emotional intelligence (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre).

Being exposed to people from different generations has also been shown to reduce attitudes and feelings of ageism in younger people. By forming intergenerational connections, age barriers are lessened.

Activities to try together

When it comes to spending time with the grandkids there are an array of different activities (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. Whether walking through the park or sitting down to complete a puzzle, there are truly hours of entertainment to be shared.

However, as many grandparents will tell you, it’s always good to plan a vast array of activities, otherwise, grandkids have the tendency to get bored very easily, leaving board games upended and games of hide and seek abandoned.

If your grandchildren love the great outdoors, activities like throwing and catching a tennis ball or kicking the soccer ball together can be fun. For a bit more stimulation, a bird-watching expedition can be equal parts fun and informative.

For those whose grandkids like the comfort of warm indoor spaces, consider picking a few favourite movies to have on in the background while you embark on board games, card games or even puzzles.

For more inquisitive minds, setting up a table for arts and crafts can provide hours of fun. Additionally, grandkids who like to keep their hands busy will enjoy going through a recipe with their grandparents and of course, tasting the finished product!

Kids are naturally adventurous and something as simple as watering the garden or pulling out the weeds can also be a fun little task. If there is still energy left to expend, going down to the local playground is always a foolproof exercise.

The bond between grandparent and grandchild

While parents undoubtedly love their children, there is something entirely different about the love shared between grandparent and grandchild. In most cases, there is a deep bond and connection that forms between a grandchild and their grandparent.

This relationship forms the foundation for years of unconditional love and support. However, there are also other benefits that stem from such a relationship. Namely, the fact that grandparents both mentally and physically benefit from being with their grandkids.

Such mental and physical benefits are especially important when you consider the common side effects of ageing. With an increased risk of physical issues, older people must remain physically active to stay mobile. Of course, running after a grandchild encourages movement.

Additionally, as we age, some cognitive functions begin to slow. This makes it hard to not only remember memories from years ago but also retain information. By spending time with grandkids learning about new toys and completing puzzles, memory loss is abated.

Finally, for some, the worst part about the twilight years is the lack of social interaction. With a grandchild on the other end of the telephone or sleeping in the spare bedroom, there is always someone to talk and laugh with. This connection works wonders on mental health.

All of these factors work together to ensure that the relationship between grandparent and grandchild is one of the most important partnerships that life has to offer. With many benefits to enjoy, it’s no wonder that a hug from grandpa or grandma feels so special.