Perhaps this headline isn’t surprising, but now it has scientific backing: new research at the University of Haifa found that grandchildren who, during their childhood, were taken care of by their grandparents, expressed a greater desire to take care of their grandparents as they aged than did grandchildren who were not taken care of by their grandparents.
“Even little things, like occasional babysitting for a few hours were enough to make grandchildren want to return the favor to grandparents,” said Dr. Ahuva Even-Zohar, from the School of Social Work at the University of Haifa who conducted the research.
The research, under the direction of Prof. Shlomo Sharlin, evaluated 216 pairs of grandchildren and their grandparents. According to the researcher, the study results reveal that not only did grandchildren who were taken care of by their grandparents express a desire to help, they were actually very involved in helping with day-to-day things like transportation, shopping, nursing care, emotional support and initiating visits.
The research also showed that gender affects the desire to help: granddaughters exhibited more desire to help their grandparents than did grandsons. However, in reality, no difference was noted in the actual assistance given to grandparents between granddaughters and grandsons. “It is important to note that while the grandchildren felt an emotional connection to past experiences, grandparents need to feel that they are also helping their grandchildren in the present,” remarked Dr. Even-Zohar.
“The practical meaning of the research is that grown grandchildren can, and need to be involved in the ongoing care of their grandparents and it is possible to build a program of care which includes the entire family, including grandchildren. The grandchildren’s involvement in caring for their grandparents should be an important part of the family support,” summarized the researcher.