Most grandparents wouldn’t need an excuse to mind their little grandkids, but now that there is a potential health benefit, they should be knocking your door down!
The North American Menopause Society followed 120 grandparents in Australia and found that those who babysat one day each week scored higher on a range of cognitive tests.
The study concluded that grandparents who babysit their grandkids have a reduced chance of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Before you get too excited, it’s important to note that too much babysitting leads to poor results. Those grandparents who babysat for five days per week or more struggled with the tests.
We could probably have told them that might be the case for free, right? Taking care of kids full-time is bloody hard and tiring work!
It’s no surprise that wider studies show that human interaction leads to a happier state of mind.
Many grandparents who babysat reported increased levels of personal satisfaction, linked not only to feeling important and having a purpose, but also because of all the love they receive from their gorgeous grandkids.
So it’s a win-win for everyone!
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