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Earn Those Points Now

A new study confirms: Take care of your grandchildren, and they’ll take care of you.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

As if you needed another reason to spend time with your grandkids, here's one more: According to a recent study done at the University of Haifa, adults whose grandparents took care of them as children are more likely to want to return the favor than those whose grandparents did not take care of them. And lucky you if you have a granddaughter: They tend to want to help more than grandsons.

You don't have to be around 24/7 to make a difference, the researchers said in a press release. Even babysitting now and then was enough to make grandchildren want to give back.

The findings make sense, even when you consider the cultural differences between families in the United States and those in Israel, where the research was done. Mary Alice Wolf, Ed.D., Director of the Institute of Gerontology at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Conn., agrees. "Any time you've witnessed a grandparent participating, not as a guest in your house but as a participant, the more likely you are to assume that's the norm," she says. "That creates mutuality. It's reciprocal. So when Grandma needs to go to the doctor, someone will take her."

Don't live near your grandkids? That's O.K., says Susan Newman, Ph.D. and author of Little Things Mean a Lot: Creating Happy Memories with Your Grandchildren. Email and phone calls count, too. The main thing, Newman says, is "seizing every opportunity" to let the child know you care.

And next time you're tempted to ditch babysitting duty or get out of taxi service, consider this: Someday, it may be payback time.

What's your grandparenting style? Take our poll.

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