Helping to care for grandchildren may protect against cognitive decline, according to a Dutch study published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
“Many grandparents provide regular care for their grandchildren—care that supports families and society more broadly,” said the lead researcher. But does it also benefit the grandparents?
To find out, researchers analysed data from 2,887 grandparents with an average age of 67. Participants reported how often and in what ways they cared for their grandchildren and completed cognitive tests three times between 2016 and 2022.
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Overall, grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on tests of memory and verbal fluency than those who did not, even after accounting for age, health and other factors. These benefits were seen regardless of the frequency or type of care provided. “What stood out most to us was that being a caregiving grandparent seemed to matter more for cognitive functioning than how often grandparents provided care or what exactly they did with their grandchildren,” the lead researcher said.