Axios: The grandparent advantage

The grandparent advantage
Illustration of a grandparent and grandchild conversing on an hourglass
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
 
The gift of grandparenthood offers the chance to help raise a child, pass on traditions and get more fit chasing a toddler around.

👵 Research suggests the role may also be linked to healthier aging and, in some cases, a longer life.

⏳ The big picture: Grandparents who hit the sweet spot of involvement — not overextending, but being present and supportive — can experience physical, cognitive and emotional benefits, Axios’ Natalie Daher writes.

Geriatric psychiatrist Marc Agronin recently outlined some of those benefits in The Wall Street Journal (gift link):1. 

💪 It requires a can-do spirit: Children come with activities, schedules and the need for an adult in the room as they learn how to navigate the world, including sibling squabbles.

Stepping up for these tasks can help build a grandparent’s sense of competence and usefulness, and in turn a more positive view of aging.

Yale psychologist Becca Levy has found that people with positive beliefs about aging lived, on average, 7½ years longer.

2. ❤️ It provides purpose: Grandparenting offers another vantage point on parenting — and, sometimes, a chance to do things differently from the first go-round.

Cooking family recipes with a new, younger partner in crime, for example, offers an opportunity to pass on wisdom and history.

3. 👟 You gotta keep up: Grandparenting can lead to plenty of physical activity when you’re trying to match the energy of a kid

.One study Agronin highlights found that moderate involvement in caring for grandchildren was associated with fewer mobility limitations, fewer depressive symptoms and better cognition, compared with no involvement.

💞 The bottom line: The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is special and lasting — and benefits three generations.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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