Caring for Grandkids: A Way to Slow Cognitive Decline?

Takeaways

• Grandparents who provide some child care scored higher on tests that measure key cognitive abilities, like memory and word-finding, than those who didn’t.
• More babysitting time wasn’t linked to bigger benefits; even occasional care may help.
• What you do matters: homework help and active leisure (like games) were the strongest standouts.
• Mixing up activities may be better than repeating the same routine every visit.
• Enjoyment and balance also matter; stressful, involuntary, or overwhelming caregiving may not have the same effects.

New research suggests that helping care for grandchildren may improve memory and strengthen overall brain function, and you don’t have to babysit every day to benefit. These benefits may be modest, but they may still prove meaningful over time.

If you’ve ever come home from an afternoon with the grandkids feeling both exhausted and somehow energized, science may have an explanation for that second feeling. A new study published in January 2026 in the journal Psychology and Aging suggests that grandparents who care for their grandchildren score higher on tests of memory and verbal skills than those who don’t. For grandmothers especially, that involvement may actually slow the brain’s natural cognitive decline over time.

The findings are good news for the millions of American grandparents who already play a central role in their grandchildren’s lives.

What the Researchers Did

To take a deeper look at how grandparenting affects the brain, lead researcher Flavia Chereches, a Ph.D. candidate at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and her team examined data from 2,887 grandparents, all over the age of 50 (with an average age of 67), who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Between 2016 and 2022, participants completed cognitive tests (simple tests of memory and thinking skills) and answered survey questions.

The survey asked whether participants had provided care for a grandchild at any point during the past year, how frequently they provided care, and what kinds of care they provided. Types of child care included watching grandchildren overnight, caring for them when they were sick, helping with homework, playing or doing leisure activities with them, driving them to school and activities, and preparing meals.

What the Researchers Found

The team found that, overall, grandparents who provided any care for their grandchildren scored higher on tests of memory and verbal fluency (how easily you can find and use words) compared with those who didn’t. The results held even after accounting for differences such as age and health.

The brain boost didn’t require a major time commitment. Among grandparents who provided care, how often they babysat made no measurable difference to their brain health. A grandmother who looked after her grandchildren once a week exhibited the same cognitive performance as a grandmother who cared for hers several days a week.

What mattered more than the time they spent together was what they did during that time. Of the seven caregiving activities that were examined, two activities stood out: helping with homework and doing leisure activities, such as playing games. Only these activities were associated with better performance on both the memory and verbal fluency tests.

Helping a child with homework often requires explaining concepts in different ways, problem-solving on the fly, and adapting to how the child learns. Playing games and doing activities together require more mental activity than passive interaction and involve creativity, planning, and constant social interaction.

The study found that engaging in a variety of activities was beneficial. Grandparents who rotated through different types of activities, such as homework help one day, cooking together another, and outings on weekends, showed better cognitive functioning overall.

Why Grandmothers Seem to Benefit More

One of the study’s most striking findings involves a gender gap. Grandmothers who provided care experienced slower cognitive decline than those who didn’t babysit. Grandfathers also enjoyed cognitive benefits from interacting with their grandchildren but showed no slowing of cognitive decline compared with men who didn’t babysit.

Researchers suspect that traditional gender roles may account for this difference. Grandmothers typically engage in more hands-on caregiving, such as preparing meals, planning activities, and managing schedules. Meanwhile, grandfathers tend to occupy a more supportive role by providing care alongside their spouses.

Another possibility for the difference in benefits between the genders could be that grandfathers may feel more obligated to help, while grandmothers more often choose to be involved. It could be that caregiving done out of a sense of duty rather than desire might not deliver the same mental benefits.

Enjoyment and Balance Matter

The researchers were careful to note that not all caregiving is equal. Study author Chereches noted that providing care voluntarily, within a supportive family environment where another family member can share the load when needed, may have different effects than caregiving that feels unsupported, involuntary, or like a burden.

This is an important distinction for some American grandparents, many of whom are shouldering significant caregiving responsibilities. In 2023, about 1 million children in the United States were being raised in households headed by grandparents, with no parents present. This type of scenario presents a different situation from the occasional afternoon of babysitting and the stress involved in full-time, unplanned caregiving may offset the cognitive benefits that grandparents get from occasional caregiving.

What This Means for You

The study has not proven with certainty that babysitting causes better brain health; it’s possible that grandparents who are already cognitively sharper are simply more likely to take on active, part-time caregiving roles. It also doesn’t mean caregiving prevents dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. But the results of the six-year study are encouraging. Grandparents can benefit from spending time with their grandkids, regardless of the amount of time – and with the biggest benefits showing up in more mentally engaging activities. The broader experience of being engaged and involved, it seems, is what counts.

For grandparents who want to make the most of their time with their grandchildren, the study points to a few practical takeaways. Activities that actively engage the mind, like helping with homework, playing board games or card games, working on creative projects, and spending time outdoors together, may be the most mentally stimulating. Variety may also help; rotating through different types of activities from visit to visit can challenge different thinking skills.

Just as important, the caregiving context matters. Time with grandkids is most likely to feel beneficial when it’s enjoyable and manageable, not overwhelming or done out of obligation. And because this research can’t prove that caregiving causes better cognition, it’s best viewed as encouraging evidence that staying socially and mentally engaged – in ways that feel positive and sustainable – may support brain health over time. In other words, your grandchildren may be doing as much for you as you’re doing for them.

Additional Reading

For additional reading on topics of interest to older adults, check out the following articles:

• Giving to Grandkids? Consider Gift Tax, 529 Plans, and More
• Pass Assets to Grandchildren in a Generation-Skipping Trust
• Home Safety for Aging in Place: A Guide for Older Adults
• Promoting Healthy Aging During Financial Literacy Month
• Getting Help for a Parent With Memory Loss