January 28, 2026
A study published by the American Psychological Association showed that taking care of grandchildren may help protect against cognitive decline in the elderly.
Lead researcher Flavia Chiriches, who holds a master’s degree, said:
* “Many grandparents provide regular care for their grandchildren, which supports families and the community at large.”
* “However, the question remains whether caring for grandchildren may also benefit the grandparents themselves.”
* “In this research, we wanted to find out whether caring for grandchildren might benefit grandparents’ health, perhaps slowing their cognitive decline.”
The importance of caring for grandchildren
To examine this issue, Cherichis and her colleagues analyzed data from 2,887 grandparents (all over the age of 50, with an average age of 67) who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.
Participants answered questionnaires and took cognitive tests three times between 2016 and 2022.
Overall, the researchers found that grandparents who cared for the children scored better on tests of memory and verbal fluency than those who did not, even after taking age, health and other factors into account.
This finding was consistent regardless of the frequency or type of care provided by grandparents.
The researchers also found that grandmothers who provided care experienced less decline on cognitive tests during the study period than grandmothers who did not provide care.
“What caught our attention most was that being a caregiver (grandparent) seemed to influence cognitive function more than the frequency of caregiving or the nature of the activities that grandparents did with their grandchildren,” Cherichis explained.
She added: “Voluntary caregiving, within a supportive family environment, may have different effects on grandparents compared to caregiving in a more stressful environment where they feel unsupported or feel that caregiving is not voluntary or is a burden.”
