Do children need grandparents in their live? 1

I am getting excited my grandson is coming to visit after about 3 1/2 years away. As I thought about him, I looked at this question: 

Do children need their grandparents? The answer is they do, and science proves it. There have been many studies that show not only are kids who have active grandparents happier, but they are actually healthier than children who don’t have grandparents in their lives.

1. We teach life lessons.

We have the unique position of being able to shape future generations by sharing the many pieces of wisdom we have accumulated. For many of us, (not all) age means experience and knowledge. We can help assure our grandkids become productive and strong adults by sharing the mistakes we made along the way and the lessons that we have learned.

2. We make kids happier.

A recent study published in The Gerontologist by researchers Sara Moorman and Jeffrey Stokes confirms this. They examined the influence of solidarity between grandparents and adult grandchildren and what they found was pretty significant. Greater relationship affinity between the two groups reduced depressive symptoms in both of them.

3. Kids find us sympathetic to their plight.

 When a child is angry with their parents, we can serve as an extra outlet for them to vent. Kids are great at finding something to cry or complain about, but if we give them a sympathetic ear, it can make all the difference. Kids rarely listen to advice that comes from their own parents; however, we may lend support and make suggestions that your grandchildren will actually hear.

4. They link us to our family history.

Our past and family history is often an important part of our personal identity, and for many people, we are an important link. We can help children to understand more about ourselves by teaching us about our lineage and by sharing our stories with them about our life growing up.

5. It is a mutually beneficial relationship.

It turns out, our grandkids enjoy having us just as much as we enjoy having grandkids. It is a complementary relationship that benefits both parties. Studies show that kids whose grandparents are involved in their upbringing have greater overall well-being than kids who don’t have that relationship. In addition, grandparents that babysit their grandkids actually live longer than other members of the same cohort without child-rearing responsibilities.

6. We learn not to take ourselves too seriously.

With age comes the inevitable pitfalls. Things like falling asleep on the couch, forgetting the names of places or people. However, grandchildren teach us it’s important to be good-humoured about it. When we are around our grandchildren, we can laugh off these things and make jokes about them. All of us will grow old one day and unfortunate stuff happens, but that doesn’t mean we have to be bitter about it and having our grandchildren around helps us not to be bitter.

7. They can be excellent friends.

While it’s a little weird if kids and their parents identify as best friends, we have a little more flexibility. We don’t have to be as strict as parents do. Parents have to worry about school, and grades, and diet, etc. But we can be a significant source of companionship for kids without imposing too much pressure on them.