If you think you’re doing a better job than your parents at child rearing, think again. A new study shows children are less likely to be injured when they are in the care of grandparents.
The study is important because grandparents are a growing source of child care for working and single parents. Some health researchers have speculated that grandparents may be out of touch with modern safety practices, and as a result, they worried that children being cared for by grandparents might be at higher risk for injury.
But the opposite appears to be true. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed caregiving and injury data from the National Evaluation of the Healthy Steps for Young Children Program. The program includes information about 5,500 newborns in 15 United States cities during 1996 and 1997, with follow-up over the next three years.
The analysis showed that having grandparents as caregivers cut the risk of childhood injury by about half. Compared to organized day care, care by other relatives, or even care by a mother who doesn’t work outside the home, children who were cared for by a grandmother were less likely to be injured. The findings were published in this month’s issue of Pediatrics.
Injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the United States, and about one in four children every year sustains an injury that requires medical attention. The number of grandparents who reside with children has been increasing since the 1970s. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that as of 2000, there were 5.8 million grandparents living with grandchildren, and that about one in three of them were involved in caregiving.
“Recent growth in the number of grandparents providing child care has some observers concerned they don’t adhere to modern safety practices,” said lead study author Dr. David Bishai, a professor with the school’s department of population, family and reproductive health, in a press release. “To the contrary, this research tells us not only is there no evidence to support this assumption, but families that choose grandparents to care for their children experience fewer child injuries.”
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Grandparents have practiced with the parents of the kid. And they can concentrate on just the kid, whereas even a stay-home mom has to multitask.
— SusannaApparently children who were cared for by a grandmother also have a better chance of becoming President of the United States.
— Steve SI’m not surprised. The grandparents I know tend to have a magic touch and an easy, but watchful way that they didn’t seem to have with their own kids, and their children haven’t learned in their roles as parents.
Watching my friends, seems like grand parenting is a unique joy, and their grandchildren are very blessed to have such a safe and happy connection with them. As someone not blessed with kids or grandchildren, it looks really great for everyone, all around.
— WesleyGrandparents have time and ressources to give the child confidence in themselves.
They trust each other.
And they share mutual love for each other.
Therefore the children listen closely to the grandparents advice.
While the parents almost do not “see” their own child. And scream at them very, very often. Which naturally leaves the children without trust in their own parents.
I believe it is part of our evolution too.
— BoGrandparents have more experience and more patience than parents. Kids will jump through hoops for their grandparents that leave their parents completely astounded.
Now, back to our coverage of the election…
— wcWithout picking apart the study too intensely (or intently), mothers were asked who was the primary caregiver in the family and reported that fathers were only 2% of the time. Not sure that fathers are better at watching/protecting kids than mothers or grandparents, BUT, I find it hard to believe that fathers are the primary caregivers in only 2% of US households. Tara any thoughts on this very low #??
PS I’m one of that very small minority out there, yikes!
— Tim SFROM TPP — I looked up Census data on single father households. It’s definitely a growing category but still small. The 2000 census found that the portion of the country’s total 105.5 million households that were headed by single fathers with children living there doubled in a decade, to 2 percent.
Grandparents are more focused, have more patience and are more loving. Seems they learn a thing or two with age—showing and giving unrestrained love being the most obvious.
My grandmother, who lived to br 96, was awesome and I miss her still.
My daughter and I are driving 500 miles so that she can visit her Grandmother (my in-law) for no other reason than when 4th grade gets too hard, Grandma’s hug is a wonderful cure.
— J Nelson RNMakes sense to me. Grandparents spent more time thinking, listening and evaluating than young people do today. They don’t over-angst about irrelevant issues and they know what’s what. They aren’t easily distracted and think more globally and, therefore, can anticipate and stop problems before they occur. They also have the power of “No” and “Because I said so” that they say with no hesitation or blink of the eye. And they have “the look” down pat. Hooray for grandparents.
— RThis dovetails nicely with the ‘grandmother’ theory of why women live longer than men–that as women aged, they evolved into a role where they helped take care of their children’s children, and evolution ‘rewarded’ them with a longer lifespan because their efforts gave a survival advantage to the species. If grandfathers are joining in the game, maybe they will reap the same rewards, and it is truly a win-win all around. This theory is explained much much better in Natalie Angier’s book, “Woman”, and it’s not her own theory, it’s from research done by others.
The one thing this makes me wonder is how many women will use this information to persuade their parents to become their day care providers? Because I know some working parents who rely heavily on their parents for child care, and I have talked to those grandparents, and some of them are very tired.
But it’s not hard to figure out why children are safest in their grandparent’s care. It’s just nice to see it confirmed. As my sister said once when I was looking for a twice a week nanny, ‘You can’t pay someone to love your child.” She wound up being my nanny. Loving aunts/uncles have to be number two on the list right after grandparents.
— francoisGrandparents certainly beat a new boyfriend every week or a stepfather. How do the statistics about death by a non-related male living in the house stack up?
— RathboneWhy do children and grandchildren get along so well? They have a common enemy! From the parents of five and the grandparents of twenty two.
— pat mcgrathFirst, 50-70 year-olds are much less likely to take their kids to the beach, to the wilderness, or skiing than 30-45 year old parents–same goes for playing other sports with the kids (that accounts for at least half of the childhood injuries to me and the kids I grew up with).
Second, from teaching in the South Side of Chicago, I saw that grandparents tended to me much less likely to let kids out of their sight, even into the teenage years–I tutored a lot of kids who were socially and occasionally intellectually stunted by the smothering. Older people in general tend to much more fearful and cautious (heck, I see it in myself as I get older), and that’s not always a good thing. Think back to times you were injured as a kid–do you think you’d have been better off if you hadn’t been allowed to participate in those activities (or if you’d been kept in the house so you couldn’t get up to them on your own)?
Less injury may not necessarily mean being raised by grandparents is better for the child.
— Peter RivardAs more women have children later in life, fewer grandkids will have the opportunity to get to know their grandparents. As an example: My husband’s mother had him at 35, and he had our son at 35. So there is a 70-year age gap between grandmother and grandson. If they are lucky, they will have a good 15 or 20 years together, but not all grandparents live to be 85 or 90, and not all of them are capable of a close relationship until the end, sadly. I’m not criticizing older mothers — I am one myself — but it’s a sad development nonetheless. Then again, I live in NYC where moms tend to be a bit older … maybe this isn’t really a nationwide issue.
— AliAs a 60-something grandma to 12, my observation has just been the opposite regarding over-protectiveness in parents vs. grandparents. My kids, like most in that era, could ‘go out to play’ and not be seen till dinnertime, building tree houses in the woods, off on bike rides, or horseback riding, skating, pick up ballgames with friends, etc. My grandkids on the other hand are being raised in an era of almost constant parental attention and involvement - with nannies or day care providers helping the working parents. They have ‘play dates’ instead of going off to see who’s around. No matter what their interest is, they expect an adult to be there giving lessons, coaching, refereeing games, chauffering, and pitching in with assigned homework or chores. Hey, it’s fun. I love being the ‘homework grandma’ who helps with projects and reading to the little ones, and doing internet research. Even helping them to understand the importance of our Constitution. But at the same time, I wonder what it’s doing to their initiative and creativity.
— Jo GThe study merely measures physical injuries. I wonder how many grandparents plop the kids in front of the TV, much as the grandparents of my two rambunctious young boys do. No playing outside, no jumping or running around, just lots and lots of videos. (And food, often both at the same time.)
Television doesn’t risk much bodily injury, but I hardly recommend sending the kids to gram’s as the safer alternative if this is what they are doing!
— Noël H.I actually think for many grandparents the know-all factor and being out of touch with modern discoveries on safety ARE factors.
But I think there’s a combination of factors that outweigh them.
1. Grandparents generally don’t have the cumulative exhaustion of parents. They either get to send the kid home at night and sleep through (even if the child isn’t) or they start caring full time for the child at a point when the child already sleeps better. Parents face total sleep deprivation from birth until who knows when?
2. Grandparents have less pressure to multitask.
3. Kids are better behaved for grandparents. I know this first hand. My son has started to test the boundaries of what he can get away with but he never tries anything on with his grandparents. Their sharp “no” counts much more than mine, because he’s so not expecting it I think.
4. For some grandparents they are more careful about some kinds of safety than the parents would be. I call it the “your child on my watch” thing. If you’re watching someone else’s child, even your own child’s child, you will be more worried about some safety aspects than if you were minding your own child. I think that includes risk of drowning and other low-tech type risks. SIDS and medications perhaps grandparents are less likely to be up with the latest.
— JillyflowerGrandparents have the advantage of experience–they’ve seen it all.
— CarolynThis doesn’t surprise me: my children’s two grandmothers are cautious-bordering-on-paranoid about safety when they care for my children!
Safe, but perhaps a bit stifling.
— JMGTaking care of my grandchildren is a true labor of love because there is somuch more care involved than another caregiver could ever provide.
There could be no better substitute for a parent when needed than grandparents.
Parents cannot be everwhere, that is why God invented grandparents. We love the job and the grandkids.
— annePeter #12– the study and results are about newborns to three year olds. That is an age where constant supervision is necessary.
— francoisInteresting points, Peter Rivard, but I’m so sure you’re wrong about grandparents and trips to the beach and other great places/outings.
I spent about half my summer at the beach, reading and observing. I actually counted the grandparents and kids at one point. It was whopping. Grandparents aren’t thinking of themselves as old folks these days. Grandmas in bikinis and two-piece suits, and also Grandpas, were strolling with their grandchildren…having picnics with the whole family…..swimming with the kids…walking the beach…collecting shells…
And, my friends with grandkids go everywhere and do everything. They really play together.
Your model may be true, but it’s not what I see.
— WesleyWith every news headline, this must be taken with a grain of salt. My parents would be terrible caretakers for their grandchildren. Every time we visited when our kids were babies, we had to practically tie them up to keep them from the dangers around the house. Poisons in unlocked cupboards, cords dangling from countertops, open rusty safety pins on the kitchen floor. My parents are pigs. And like many grandparents, they are not the best caretakers for my children, or any other children who may enter their home.
— TGrandparents usually go home at the end of the day whereas SAHMs are responsible for their kids 24/7. It’s not that surprising that SAHMS might become fatigued and less watchful and therefore be less effective as caregivers than grandparents. Also, SAHMs have to multitask, run errands with their kids in the car, etc, whereas all the grandparents I know focus solely on childcare when the kids are with them.
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