Taking care of your grandchildren may do even more than add joy (and a little chaos) to your life — it could also keep your brain sharp.
“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,” says lead author Flavia Chereches, a researcher at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
Grandparenting Offers a Healthy Combination of Activity, Brain Stimulation, and Good Vibes
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 3,000 grandparents aged 50 and older (average participant age was 67) who were enrolled in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. To measure their brain health, participants completed cognitive tests up to three times between 2016 and 2022.
Grandparents were asked whether they had provided care for a grandchild in the past year, as well as how often they helped and what types of activities they did — such as playing with grandchildren, helping with homework, preparing meals, or watching them overnight.
Overall, grandparents who provided any care scored higher on tests of memory and verbal tests than those who did not, even after accounting for age, education, health, and other factors.
“We know that staying active, by moving our bodies and by engaging in cognitive-stimulating activities, is good as we get older,” says Chereches. Caring for grandchildren may provide older adults with opportunities for these activities — acts of service that many older adults find deeply meaningful, she says.
“Potentially, cognitive benefits may stem from the positive emotions associated with caregiving, increased physical activity, or higher social integration,” says Chereches.
Why Caregiving Might Support Brain Health
The finding that caregiving grandparents scored higher on tests of memory and verbal fluency makes sense, says Deborah Kado, MD, a geriatric specialist, professor of medicine, and director of the Stanford Longevity Center in Palo Alto, California, who was not involved in the research.
“It’s likely that grandparents who are caregivers for young children may have more opportunities for exposure to new ideas, opportunities, and also have a greater purpose — for example, the goal of raising grandchildren to be successful as adults — compared with those who don’t have the opportunity to caregive or choose not to do so,” she says.
Chereches adds that caregiving can represent a meaningful social role for older adults, which may help keep them mentally engaged.
It’s Not About Hours Logged Grandparenting
Surprisingly, the study found that neither the number of hours spent caregiving nor any single activity predicted better cognitive outcomes.
“What stood out in this study wasn’t how often grandparents helped or one specific activity, but the variety of activities they were involved in,” says Kado.
Helping with homework, playing games, preparing meals, and driving grandchildren to activities may collectively offer different forms of mental and social stimulation, rather than one task providing all the benefits.
Why Grandmothers May See More Benefits From Caregiving
The benefits were different between grandmothers and grandfathers. While both groups showed higher cognitive scores if they provided care, only grandmothers experienced less decline in the memory and language tests.
The reasons for this difference aren’t fully clear, but researchers believe it may reflect how caregiving roles are typically experienced later in life. Grandmothers often take on a more central role in caregiving, while grandfathers may be less involved or provide care alongside a partner. Those differences could affect how cognitively engaging caregiving feels, the authors wrote.
“It’s very possible that grandmothers and grandfathers experience caregiving differently, based on cultural norms and the types of activities they tend to do,” says Kado.
Could Healthier Grandparents Be More Likely to Help?
The researchers caution that the findings do not prove caregiving directly protects against cognitive decline. “It’s possible that grandparents with better cognitive health are more likely to be asked — or able — to care for their grandchildren. If parents are worried about a grandparent’s cognitive health, they may be less likely to ask them to provide childcare, which could influence the results,” says Kado.
Research tried to account for this by comparing caregiving grandparents with noncaregivers who were similar in age, education, and health status, but this possibility can’t be fully ruled out, the authors wrote.
Taking Care of Grandkids May Not Always Be a Positive
The researchers also stress that caregiving may not be beneficial in every situation. The study did not measure whether grandparents found caregiving rewarding or stressful, which could make a meaningful difference.
It still isn’t known how caring for grandkids might be good for some people and not for others, says Chereches.
“One potential factor may be whether grandparents perceive caregiving as rewarding or burdensome. For instance, one grandparent might find caring for grandchildren five days a week very rewarding, while another might feel stressed caring just once in a while,” she says.
The difference might be whether caregiving is voluntary and whether the level of involvement aligns with grandparents’ preferences. Researchers are planning to explore these issues in future research.
Benefits Likely Go Both Ways
While the study focused on the benefits that grandparents get from caregiving, there are likely benefits for the grandkids, too, says Kado.