8 Benefits that grandparents contribute to their grandchildren

There is a lot of writings and documentation of all kinds on the influence of parents on their children, but there is relatively little about grandparents and their relationship with their grandchildren.

However, statistics show that About three quarters of adults will become grandparents Someday, and the average age to become around 57 years. Therefore, a large number of people will be grandparents approximately for a third of their useful life. In addition, with the fall of fertility and demographic aging of industrialized western societies, family networks are changing substantially, and grandparents can be said that they play an increasingly important role in raising the little ones.

Content

• The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren today
  • 1. Love between grandparents and grandchildren is special
  • 2. They offer a safe and stable home
  • 3. A loving shoulder to lean
  • 4. More precaution at the wheel
  • 5. True affection
  • 6. A bridge between generations
  • 7. A combination of tradition
  • 8. A solid anchor and unconditional love

The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren today

Currently grandparents and grandchildren look at each other with relative frequency. In a last survey a few years ago in the United Kingdom showed that about 30% of grandparents saw their grandchildren several times a week, while another 32% said they saw their grandchildren less than once a month.

The relationship between the two is generally (although not always) very close, satisfactory and not conflicting, and is seen as very positive and important by both generations.

And it is that grandparents and grandchildren usually do all kinds of things together, such as participating in family events, sharing family history, playing together, going on vacation, shopping, watching television or videos, etc.

Next we will tell you 8 of the main psychological benefits that grandparents contribute to their grandchildren:

1. Love between grandparents and grandchildren is special

Psychologists have described it as pure and "emotionally simple", grandparents They experience all the joy and affection in the same way as parents, but do not carry with the daily tensions and responsibilities of childhood raising. Research shows that it is a mutual benefit relationship. In a study, the researchers surveyed 1.596 children, aged between 11 and 16 years and found that the participation of grandparents in the children's life led them to adjust better and to be mentally healthier teenagers. These are some of the specific benefits that children receive from their grandparents.

2. They offer a safe and stable home

Another of the study's findings was that almost a third of the grandparents regularly took care of their grandchildren. "Children's grandparents with parents who work can provide a more stable home And they don't stay alone when parents are working late, "says Susan Newman, an expert social psychologist in breeding of the children. Newman points out that grandparents can help with raising healthy children, providing meals and constant support, while serving as an additional level of security.

3. A loving shoulder to lean

Grandparents can serve as a "shock absorber" when a family is going through a divorce. They They can calm children and help them develop resilience, a very important lesson for children. A grandfather can serve as a model to learn how to deal with adversity and difficulties in life, says Dan Kindlon, child psychologist, professor at Harvard Public Health and Author D “The name of Cain: the protection of The emotional life of children ".

4. More precaution at the wheel

It seems that The possibilities of suffering a traffic accident are 50% lower when a grandfather is behind the wheel instead of one of the parents, According to a recent study published in Pediatrics magazine. This may be due to the fact that grandparents are more prudent when driving when they take their grandchildren, researchers say.

5. True affection

A study by the University of Haifa in Israel showed that grandparents appreciate their grandchildren equally, whether biological or adoptive. Often couples go hard and expensive fertility treatments, partly for fear that their parents do not accept a child adopted. However, the researchers found that grandparents see their grandchildren adopted as the same members of the family. And that deep affection can be especially valuable when the grandson has special needs, since another report found that grandparents play a key role in the life of autistic grandchildren.

6. A bridge between generations

Grandparents not only teach important lessons of life, but also They can help keep families united. According to a study by the University of Wisconsin, the longer the children of families with difficulties with grandparents, the greater the probability that parents remain together. "Grandparents are glue in families," explains Newman. "Family traditions pass to the younger generations and make the father figure closer telling them stories of when their parents were children."

7. A combination of tradition

Grandparents not only talk about the past, but also They keep alive the transmission of family and community traditions. "They use their time to share information and instruct their grandchildren: they can teach a child to play chess, build a bird house, bake a cake, or take care of the garden," says Newman. "Grandparents, like parents, are excellent models to follow."

8. A solid anchor and unconditional love

A Canadian study discovered that relations between grandparents and grandchildren permanently are generally based on respect, mutual support and friendship; grandparents provide stability and give children someone to talk to when parents feel uncomfortable on some sensitive topic. But "the most important thing is grandparents provide their grandchildren unconditional love," says Michelle Borba, educational psychologist. "This is the greatest of all gifts, since it feels the basis for the mental and physical health of children."