Grandparents, here’s a question:
What’s something you never would have tried or thought you had the energy to do, but you did it because your grandchildren were there or asked you to join them?
Maybe it was getting on a trampoline. Or playing a video game. Maybe it was learning a TikTok dance in the living room while your grandkids laughed and cheered you on.
We aren’t as spry as we used to be, and we’re reminded of that all the time — by our knees and our backs … and our hips … and shoulders … and actually, just mornings in general. A day with the grandkids can leave us needing a two-day nap.
And yet somehow when they show up, something changes.
Researchers who study grandparents have a term for this: “biological renewal.” It’s a chance to feel young again, and it isn’t just in our heads. Being active with our grandchildren — playing outdoor games, going to playgrounds, swimming, even working outside together — actually improves joint mobility, energy levels, and overall health. Some studies have found that grandparents who provide occasional childcare live about five years longer than those who don’t.
There may not be a fountain of youth, but the next best thing might be soaking in all the youth we can with our grands.
Things We Never Expected to Do
Think about it. How many of us grandparents have found ourselves:
- going down a water slide we would have walked right past on our own?
- learning to play Minecraft so we can explore a grandchild’s world?
- getting on the floor to build a Lego city and losing track of time?
- trying sushi for the first time because a teenage grandchild insisted?
- dancing at a wedding when we’d normally sit it out — because a five-year-old grabbed our hand?
- attending a concert for a band we’d never heard of, just to be there?
- roller skating for the first time in decades — and laughing the whole time?
None of these things would have happened without grandchildren pulling us in. They stretch us. They draw us into their world. And somehow we find the energy.
More Willing to Roll with It
Here’s something else that happens: we become more flexible. That might be true physically, but it’s probably even more true in other ways.
Back when we were parents with kids this age, we might have been more uptight about messes, noise, or plans going sideways. But as grandparents, we’re usually more willing to roll with it. Less ego. Less need for control. More willingness to try something unexpected and see what happens. That’s one of the gifts of this season — for us and for them.
Yes, those “all hands on deck” days are physically and mentally taxing. We’re not used to that intensity anymore. By the time the grandkids leave, we’re ready to collapse.
But here’s the thing: we’d do it again tomorrow. Because those little ones put a spring in our step, a smile on our face, and youthful feelings in our hearts. They renew something in us. They give us reasons to stretch, to try, to play, to show up.
The next time you find yourself doing something you never expected — climbing into a bounce house, learning a card game with rules that make no sense, or staying up past your bedtime to watch a movie with a grandchild — just smile.
This is what grandkids make you do. And it’s one of the best parts of the job.
What’s something unexpected your grandkids have gotten you to do? Share your story on our Facebook page.
