The special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren can benefit both generations
By Marie-Josée Roy
As part of a study published in 2022 in the journal Social Science & Medicine, researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University of Maintz in Germany looked into the benefits of being a grandparent. By studying the lifestyle habits and health status of 14,000 people, of whom one-third were grandparents, they discovered that the role promotes social interaction and helps to give new meaning to life.
Grandparenting Styles
Sociologist Andrée-Anne Boucher, who teaches sociology at the Cégep de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Que., studied the transition to grandparenthood as part of her master’s thesis and has identified four types of grandparents. “First are doting grandparents, who want above all to nurture the relationship with their grandchild with surprises, treats, and fun times spent as a family,” she says.
“Then there are transmitting grandparents, who want to give their grandchild something new and different. For example, if the child lives in the city and the grandparents live in the country, the latter may want to teach the child how to garden. There are also collaborating grandparents: they offer sup- port in their grandchildren’s daily lives, especially by looking after them. Finally, some grandparents play an active role with their grandchildren— helping with homework, for example. They’re very engaged, very invested: these are instructing grandparents.”
Each way of being a grandparent brings its share of benefits, and a grandparent can be more than one type. The relationship with the grandchild, and the support given to the parents, varies from family to family.
Renewed Vitality
If the role of grandparent has changed over the years, it’s largely because life expectancy has increased. “Today, grandparents are at the heart of their grandchildren’s lives,” says psychologist Suzanne Vallières.
Grandparenting isn’t what it used to be, to the delight of everyone, having morphed from being a distant presence to a reassuring and familiar figure.
“For a long time, retirement was considered a kind of social death,” Boucher says. “Many viewed it as a vacuum or black hole. Today, becoming a grandparent is seen as a time of renewed vitality. Being involved in grandchildren’s lives offers both physical and psychological benefits. Grandparenthood is an 0pportunity to revive a special family relationship, to spend valuable time with the children.”
A Second Wind
Grandparenting can involve numerous activities that help to keep grandparents physically and mentally fit, such as picnics in the park, playing tag, doing crafts, and reading. In studying the benefits of grandparenting, the researchers in Maintz found that grandmothers who spoke with their grandchildren often had a sharper-than-average memory.
“Being a grandparent keeps you alert,” Vallières observes. “Children are often playing, which motivates you to move. They’re a breath of fresh air and keep you up to date about what’s going on. They also stimulate creativity, whether you’re looking up a craft or making a recipe together.”
Boucher says that all this has a positive effect on grandparents’ quality of life: “We talk a lot about the meaning this gives to life. It’s interesting to experience a new role when you’re older. It can lead to having a range of experiences and building a significant bond but one that is different from the one you had with your own children.”
A Second Chance
Between work, taking care of the kids, and looking after the home, parents’ lives tend to be hectic. Grandparents, many of whom are retired, don’t usually have the same time constraints, allowing them to both support their children and build a relationship with their grandchildren.
“In my research, I spoke to babyboomers who were among the first generation of women to enter the workforce in large numbers,” Boucher says. “They experienced being torn between family and career. Many see grandparenthood as a kind of second chance.”
By getting to know their grandchildren better, older adults reveal at the same time a part of themselves that can be carried into the future. “Handing down memories and traditions is also the role of grandparents,” Vallières points out. By making the same recipe with their grandchildren every Christmas, calling to mind their childhood memories and carrying on family traditions, grandparents live on in the younger generations.
“Once they have grown up, grandchildren will remember these times spent with their grandparents. Memories are often what help us get through hard times.”
