Grandchildren can be a wonderful part of life and can even extend the length of a grandparents' life. According to the article titled, “Grandparents Who Help Care for Grandchildren Live Longer Than Other Seniors” by Madeline Kennedy studies have been shown that grandparents who provide childcare or support for their own community typically live longer than older adults who don’t care for others. Although having sole responsibility of grandchildren has been found to have a negative impact on health of seniors, those that care for grandchildren occasionally obtain health benefits. On the other side of this issue, those that do not have a relationship or see their grandchildren can experience negative impacts. The reason behind this may be due to the evolutionary past when taking care of children was critical for the survival of humans.
These findings are from a study called the Berlin Aging Study completed with over 500 people over the age of 70. Those that participated in this study were given medical tests and participated in interviews every two years between the years 1990 and 2009. The participants were grandparents that only cared for their grandchildren occasionally. The other groups studied were older adults who gave support for friends or neighbors and those who don’t provide care for anyone. When accounting for the participants’ age and overall health, the risk of dying over a 20-year period for those that cared for grandchildren was one-third lower than those that did not provide childcare. In the initial ten years of the study, half of the grandparents who provided care for their grandchildren were still alive as were grandparents who gave support to their adult children with activities such as housework. It was found that the participants that did not provide care to others, died within the first five years of the study. Caregiving can give people a purpose in their life because they are more apt to feel useful to others. It also keeps people mentally and physically active. Although caregiving can be beneficial, it is important to consider the grandparents’ other responsibilities and willingness to help with childcare. Caregiving can potentially take away from other beneficial activities like volunteering, working or participating in social groups. As long as the grandparent does not feel stressed about the amount and intensity of caregiving, providing care of grandchildren can be beneficial for all people involved. To find out more ways to keep you and your family healthy, please visit our website at www.oxborochiro.com.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-grandparents-idUSKBN14J1TG
