Kids Need Grandparents For Good Reasons, As Studies Show

Oct 19, 2021 by apost team

The bond we form with family members can be life-changing, and scientific studies have proven it. While it’s common for grandparents and grandchildren to form a beautiful bond with one another, studies have shown that this bond can actually be critical to both parties. The linking of these generations is important for several different reasons, showing that both grandparents and grandchildren benefit from developing close-knit family ties with one another.

With so much diversity and different knowledge between the generations, it makes sense that grandparents and grandchildren can learn from each other as they continue on their journey through life. Several studies about the relationship this set of family members has with each other have been conducted over the years with much of the research indicating that it’s extremely beneficial for people to have a good relationship with their grandparents.

This relationship is known to help with emotional health, social abilities and cognitive growth and development, and so much more. While going to your grandmother’s house for a freshly baked batch of cookies sounds inviting enough, finding out that there are even more crucial benefits to continuing to build that relationship makes the warm welcome even more inviting.

Grandparents also receive plenty of positive boosts in their own life from having a close bond with their grandkids, making it just as important for them to continue working on the bond with their family members. Read on to find out more about why it’s so important for grandparents and their grandchildren to form such a strong bond.

Why This Relationship Is Important

In March 2021, Inc. reported that grandparents can help their grandchildren become kinder and even smarter people. A 2011 Brigham Young University study showed that children who felt close to at least one grandparent exhibited “higher pro-social behavior,” meaning they were likely to help or share with others. Researchers believed that grandparents most likely helped with teaching their grandchildren certain social skills that would lead to good behavior. This positive influence is also distinctly different from the relationship children have with their own parents.

Another study conducted by professors Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz and Ann Buchanan showed that kids are better socially and mentally when they have loving connections with their grandparents. The study proved that having this close relationship could help children deal with difficult life events, such as parental separation, as grandparents are able to help keep kids calm. A study done by Pace University also showed that adults who as kids were close to their grandparents had higher emotional intelligence levels compared to those who didn’t have this relationship.

Conducted by Sara Moorman and Jeffery Stokes, another study showed that the grandparent-grandchild relationship is strong even as the grandchildren grow into adulthood. Continuing to have such a great bond with each other resulted in reduced depressive symptoms. Although the average relationship has its fair share of both support and strains, a close bond between grandparents and grandchildren has generally been linked to positive results.

Research from a 2014 Boston College study conducted over the years of 1985 to 2004 also showed that people who had this type of strong emotional bond were less depressed. It’s clear that both grandparents and grandchildren have a lot to gain from developing such great and loving relationships with each other.

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What kind of relationship do you have with your grandparents? What about your grandchildren? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your other family members, too.