The Need to Revive Role Grandparents Play in Children's Lives

Grandparents have been hit by loneliness during the pandemic lockdown too. They felt left out in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Despite FaceTime calls and other tools to stay in touch with their families, physical closeness was most missed by older adults.

Post-pandemic, it is vital to rekindle the grandparent-grandchildren connection, for the role grandparents play is a vital one.

Survey Highlights Feelings of Grandparents Amid Pandemic

Ready Generations, a charity that works with the University of Sterling and non-profit care village operator Belong conducted a survey on grandparents. They aimed to determine the role grandparents play in children's lives and the changes of which amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey report entitled 'Care to the Nest' revealed that grandparents spent less time with their grandchildren due to the pandemic. Despite childcare bubbles, there were still at least 12% of grandparents who did not get to see their grandkids at all since the pandemic started.

Missing Grandparent-Grandchild Bonding

Most grandparents said their grandchildren had regular sleepovers at their home pre-pandemic. But sleepovers at grandparents' house have since gone down to 25%. Even with various tools that allow for virtual meet-ups, grandparents say that connecting virtually was not nearly as rewarding, Nursery World reported. Grandparents miss the enjoyment of spending time with their grandkids which were of great importance to them.

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The Roles Grandparents Play in Grandchildren's Lives

The research further highlighted the invaluable role grandparents play, such as:

• Childcare- Pre-pandemic, over a third of grandparents provided childcare to their grandchildren regularly.
• Companionship- Many grandparents identified strongly with roles such as entertainer, storyteller, and friend to their grandchildren. As Thomas Clasby Jr., director of Quincy Elder Services, noted, "grandparents do not have to be the parent or disciplinarian," adding that his father said his "job was just to love his grandchildren." But most grandparents would agree on their role as a listener.
• Instructional support- Grandparents are an excellent aid to the child's learning and growing up. Over half of grandparents saw themselves as mentors, emotional nurturers, problem solvers, disciplinarians, and wise elders.
• Practical support- Moreover, grandparents also provide their children with financial assistance. Many turn to their older parents for health advice, career guidance, and even transportation.
• Life skills- Time at grandparents' home was often spent learning life skills such as baking and fixing stuff at home, among other things.
• Value development- Grandchildren perceived grandparents as influential to learning values, NCBI reported. In particular, grandchildren had stronger relationships with grandmothers who influence their values most.

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The Need for Physical Closeness

The research further determined that while technological tools have helped grandparents and grandchildren stay connected during the pandemic, nothing could replace the in-person moments. As social creatures, humans are meant to be physical with one other and crave physical contact with loved ones, CBC noted.

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Helping Grandparents and Grandkids

With so many roles grandparents have in children's lives, Ready Generations founder Sue Egersdoff stressed the urgency of rekindling grandparent-grandchild relationships. "As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to rekindle intergenerational connections that mutually matter to grandparents and their grandchildren," Egersdoff noted.

Tracy Paine, deputy chief executive of Belong, also emphasized how intergenerational interactions "mutually benefit older and younger people." Hence, Paine called for new models of care that would aim to facilitate intergenerational interactions. With that in mind, Ready Generations and Belong are set to host a free webinar to explore the study's findings on March 25. Next year, they will also launch an 'intergenerational care village' that will incorporate a nursery.