Strengthening your relationship with your grandchildren can improve your memory and well-being. Have fun with these ideas.
The relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild can be quite special and meaningful. A grandparent can provide love, joy, nurturing, and guidance. Plus, they can share the family’s history and pass down traditions.
Grandchildren offer their own gifts. They can clue grandparents in on what young people care about. They can help grandparents become more socially and physically active–and even keep their brains sharp.
“Connecting and engaging in conversations or activities with grandchildren can provide increased cognitive stimulation. It can enhance cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and processing speed, thus increasing brain resilience,” says psychiatrist Nikhil Palekar, M.D., director of the Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, part of Stony Brook University in New York. “This can help reduce age-related memory loss and could potentially delay the onset of dementia.”
Spending time with grandchildren can also provide psychological and moral support. It can make life more meaningful, fun, and social. “Being in touch can decrease isolation and loneliness,” explains Dr. Palekar. “This can result in a decrease in depression, anxiety, and stress, enhancing overall quality of life and daily functioning.”
Many grandparents and grandkids don’t live in the same town or even the same state. So, it may feel challenging to stay in touch. But there are some simple, fun ways to strengthen your bond. They work whether you’re connecting in person or over a video call.
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5 enjoyable ways to get closer with your grandkids
There are so many creative ways you can stay in touch and connect with your grandchildren. Here’s where to start.
#1. Read together. Sharing books is a wonderful way to connect. You might read stories aloud with smaller kids. Or start your own book club with an older child. This helps develop their reading skills and may inspire a love of reading. It also encourages an exchange of ideas and gives you things to talk about.
If you live nearby, you can visit a bookstore or library together, where little ones can attend story time or choose their own books to read and take home, says Brenna Renn, Ph.D., a clinical geropsychologist and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Older kids may enjoy reading a book you’ve both picked together and setting up a time to discuss it with you.”
Don’t live near your grandchildren? Another option that works well: Record yourself on video reading a story. They can listen to your mini audiobook in the bathtub, car, or before bed.
#2. Play a new game. Games are a great social activity. And playing them requires you to communicate, collaborate, and solve problems.
“Board games appeal to all ages and give us the social connection we need, as well as being a way to protect cognitive health,” says Renn. A 2023 study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease looked at the effects of playing traditional board games. In general, older adults who played board games had better mental function, which includes working memory.
If your grandchild is new to a game, you get the opportunity to teach them. If you’ve never played a certain game before, it allows you to learn new things. “Grandchildren also often enjoy teaching their grandparents things too, like putting together Legos,” Renn explains. “This can be fun for an older person who maybe never grew up with them.” So, bust out the cards, chess, Scrabble — or Lego sets!
#3. Schedule a kitchen date. Cooking or baking with your grandchildren is a great opportunity to create something together. It’s also a way to pass down favorite family recipes to the next generation.
Grandparents and grandkids can make a veggie pizza, fish tacos, kale chips, peanut butter protein balls, or banana oat pancakes. Teens may want to share photos of the dish on social media. Plus, smelling different delicious scents in the kitchen can even be good for your brain. That’s because smells travel from your nose to your brain’s limbic system. That’s the part of your brain that handles emotion and memory.
If you’re in separate kitchens, set up a video call. That way everyone can cook or bake at the same time.
#4. Plan a movie night. Scheduling a movie night with your grandkids is an easy way to get cozy together. It’s also a perfect activity for a slumber party at your house. Movie night can be a way to introduce them to family-friendly classics such as The Wizard of Oz or The Sound of Music. Or give them the chance to pick the movie!
Not in the same area or zip code? Throw a Netflix party (or whatever your favorite streaming service might be). Suggest a movie to watch, watch it at the same time, then set up a follow-up video call to discuss it and their favorite parts.
#5. Write letters. Email and texting are the most common forms of written communication these days. That’s why receiving an actual letter in the mail is so special. Your grandchild probably doesn’t receive letters very often.
Children will love getting a handwritten note, such as a letter or postcard, in the mail, and you can encourage them to become your pen pal.
Letter writing is also good for you. You can share wisdom and details about the family. It’s a form of storytelling, which research says can help improve the well-being of older adults.
Additional sources:
Puzzle games and memory: Heliyon
Cards and cognitive function: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Board games slow cognitive decline: Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Letter writing and well-being in older adults: Ageing International
