• Posted November 12, 2024

Grandparents & Grandkids: Poll Shows Them Helping Each Other

Grandchildren are a true blessing for seniors, helping them avoid loneliness and keeping them on their toes, a new poll reports.

Overall, 72% of people with grandkids say they hardly ever feel isolated, compared with 62% of those without grandchildren, according to results from the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging.

People without grandchildren also are more likely to say their mental health is only fair or poor -- 13% compared to 9% with those who have grandkids.

“For many older people, becoming a grandparent is a major milestone in their lives. Our findings show there are many dimensions to grandparenting, and possible positive effects of grandparenting, some of which may not be widely recognized,” researcher Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional sciences in the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said in a news release.

About 60% of adults 50 and older have at least one grandchild, including 27% who say they have five or more.

Seniors older than 65 were more likely than those in their 50s and early 60s to say they have at least one grandchild, 76% versus 46%

The survey also found that:

• About half (49%) of grandparents provide care at least once every few months for grandchildren under 18.

• About 18% of grandparents see a grandchild once a day or nearly every day, versus 23% who see them once a week, 23% who see them once or twice a month, and 36% who see them every few months or less.

• Three in five (61%) say they’ve shared at least one meal with a grandkid in the past month, about half (47%) said they prepared or bought food for them, and 36% baked or cooked with their grandchildren.

“Eating, and especially cooking, with grandchildren can be an opportunity for older adults to make important social and cultural connections, such as passing down knowledge and recipes,” Bauer said. “Given how many grandparents are frequently engaging with their grandchildren around food and eating, it is important that they relay positive and healthy messages about nutrition and body size.”

Grandparents who saw their grandkids more often were less likely to feel isolated or feel a lack of companionship, the poll found.

For example, 78% of grandparents who see grandkids nearly every day or every day said they hardly ever feel isolated, compared with 65% who see their grandchildren every few months or less.

And 70% of grandparents who see their grandkids more often reported hardly ever feeling a lack of companionship, compared with 57% of those who see grandchildren every few months.

“Health care providers should consider asking their older patients whether they are active in their grandchildren’s lives, and perhaps encourage more involvement among those who are struggling with loneliness or depression, even if they live far apart and need to connect virtually when they can’t be together,” poll director Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan, said in a news release.

The poll included a nationwide sample of 3,486 adults 50 to 94 who were surveyed online and via phone in August.

More information

The American Heart Association has more on the health benefits of having grandkids.

SOURCE: University of Michigan, news release, Nov. 12, 2024