FAMILY LAW ARTICLES

Caring for grandkids good for a grandparent’s health?

Getting to spend time with and care for their grandchild can bring a lot of joy to a grandparent. Might it also have health benefits? Research suggests it might.

A study looked at the death risk levels for a group of over 500 individuals who were 70 or older.

Some of these individuals occasionally played a caregiving role for children, such as babysitting them. The study found that playing such a role was associated with a lower death risk and living longer. As a note, this was the case both for caring for relatives and caring for non-relatives.

As this study’s findings underscore, there are a lot of different impacts the time they spend caring for their grandkids could have for a grandparent. Along with being impactful, such time is also something a grandparent may cherish greatly. So, it can be a very harrowing experience for a grandparent when the opportunity to spend time with their grandchild is taken away from them by the child’s parent.

There are a variety of things, such as family strife coming out of death, divorce or other major event, that could lead to a grandparent facing such a situation. When dealing with this heartbreaking situation, a person may fear that they have no choice other than to simply accept the reduction or complete elimination of their role in their grandchild’s life. However, here in California, there are rights grandparents have when it comes to their grandchildren. Such rights could provide a grandparent with routes for safeguarding their ability to spend time with their grandkids. Time can be of the essence when it comes to such routes. So, promptly seeking out legal guidance on their options can be important for grandparents when they are being kept from having the contact needed to maintain a strong relationship with their grandkids.

Source: KTVU, “Study: Grandparents who babysit grandkids may live longer,” Sept. 11, 2017