Q. A friend was telling me recently that grandparents who take care of their grandchildren are healthier. My daughter and her family live about 45 minutes away, so we don’t care for our two grandchildren on a regular basis, but we do have them overnight and on weekends here and there. We get a lot of joy out of spending time with them. Is it true these visits also keep us healthy?

A. How lucky you are that you get to enjoy quality time with your grandkids. It’s true that caring for grandchildren can be its own reward. I’m looking forward to experiencing this myself because I am expecting my first grandchild this August!

Your friend is correct. Studies show that grandparents who help care for their grandchildren experience health benefits – even those, like you, who do it only occasionally. A recent study published by the American Psychological Association found that caring for grandchildren can be good for the brain. The study looked at data from 3,000 grandparents in the United Kingdom who were age 50 or older.

Researchers found that older adults who cared for their grandchildren scored higher on tests involving memory and language than those who were not caregivers. In the study, caregiving included watching grandkids overnight, taking care of them when they were sick, playing with them, helping with homework, preparing meals and driving them to school and other activities. Researchers pointed out that older adults saw benefits regardless of how often they took care of their grandchildren or the type of care. Over the course of the study, grandmothers who cared for their grandchildren also saw less decline on cognitive tests than those who didn’t.

Of course, the benefits of caring for grandchildren may vary, depending on how supported a grandparent feels. More work needs to be done to study grandparent caregivers in more stressful situations, or those who feel that their choices are limited. The AgeSpan Family Caregiver Support Program works with many grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren out of necessity. AgeSpan offers support groups and other programming to help these grandparents navigate caregiving under more difficult circumstances.

Future studies may also tell us why caregiving grandparents see these benefits – whether it’s thanks to the social engagement, the flexibility and creativity that comes with caring for a child, or something else. In the meantime, continue to enjoy your time with your grandchildren. It just might make your heart – and your brain – happy.

Are you caring for an older adult or need help finding healthy aging resources? Our experienced staff is available to help. Visit us online at www.agespan.org. You can also call 800-892-0890 or email info@agespan.org. 

Joan Hatem-Roy is the chief executive officer of AgeSpan, which serves the following cities and towns: Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Chelmsford, Danvers, Dracut, Dunstable, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Marblehead, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Peabody, Rowley, Salisbury, Salem, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, and West Newbury.