6 benefits of spending time with Grandad
Grandfathers can be very different from grandmothers. Grandmothers dote, nurture, and feed us. (Want a cuppa and a cookie?), while sometimes grandfathers are often known to complain, demand a cuppa, hand out money and the occasional piece of advice.
But spending time with Grandad comes with other perks too!
6 benefits of spending time with Grandad
Less depression
One study of 351 grandfathers found that grandfathers who are involved with their grandkids reported fewer symptoms of depression than those who were less involved.
A similar study found kids who grow up to have greater emotional closeness with grandparents are less likely to be depressed as adults.
The research looked at 374 grandparents and 356 adult grandchildren and included seven waves of data collection between 1985 and 2004, and found that the affinity grandparents and adult grandchildren had for each other reduced depressive symptoms on both sides.
Grandpa is often the favourite
Another British study of maternal grandparents showed that children prefer grandmothers over grandfathers until they near the teen years, at which time the preference begins to even out. Among teen boys, grandfathers are named as the ones with whom they “get on best.”
Kids are less “ageist”
Another study, published in the journal Child Development, found that kids who spend quality time with their grandparents were less likely to hold “ageist” opinions about older people.
Grandpa affects your child’s life expectancy
A 2011 study found that the age when their grandchildren were born could actually determine a kid’s life expectancy.
The research revealed that the older a child’s paternal grandpa was, the longer telomeres (a chromosome) they’re born with. Telomeres get shorter the older people get, often causing age-related illnesses. The longer these are at birth, the slower this process is.
Helps grandpa live longer
Grandparents who babysit grandkids live longer than those around the same-age without child-rearing responsibilities, according to recent research.
The Berlin Ageing Study of 500 pensioners found that grandparents who babysit had a 37% lower mortality risk than adults of the same age with no caring responsibilities. (More on that HERE!)
Learning about the past and good old fashioned values
Grandpa can teach children all about history, their family’s past and some good old fashioned values that can then be carried on through the generations.
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