Young at Heart: Why being around kids keep elders happy and healthy

Young at Heart: Why being around kids keep elders happy and healthy

There’s been a long standing belief among young parents that growing up with a grandparent in the household is a huge blessing any one can ever experience.

There’s no denying this fact, yes, but it turns out that the elder users of our families also gain immeasurable rewards by simply interacting and being around kids.

Watch the video below to know more:

“Grandparenting,” as many call it, helps significantly keep stress and anxiety at bay for our elders. The youthful energy and cheerfulness exuded by kids are more than enough to keep them preoccupied with happy thoughts and positive memories. The Berlin Aging Study conducted a few years back, which examined data pooled from more than 500 individuals aged 70 years old and above, showed that those who participated in caring for their grandchildren live a lot longer in a 20-year period than those who did not.

Being around kids also helps improve socialization among older people. Being constantly active with children—whether it be in helping them out with arts and crafts activities, teaching them a simple cookie recipe, or just reciting a bunch of nursery rhymes over breakfast—gives elders a sense of purpose while also reducing their feeling of isolation due to aging.

A constant connection with the younger generation enables both grandchildren and grandparents to learn new skills. In this way, older people enjoy improved cognitive stimulation that helps keep their minds sharp and healthy and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. One ideal activity that families can encourage getting their elders and the children involved is scrapbooking.

Doing this allows grandparents to share a long preserved and talk about their heritage, which essentially keeps family stories and histories alive for generations. Keeping deeply-rooted emotional ties with the younger users of the family also helps strengthen the elders’ immune system, according to one Reader’s Digest article.

So the next time you pay your parents a visit for a weekend, make sure to bring your kids along. Reuser that there are way more positive outcomes in keeping this relationship strong beyond just seeing your own parents smile or hearing them let out a hearty laugh.