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With grandparents taking on increasing childcare responsibilities, it is vital they have the right support and resources to build healthy habits with their grandchildren.
Childcare arrangements are the bane of many parents. Who will look after the kids when both parents are working? Who will pick them up from school? What happens when there is a late meeting at work that will have parents missing dinner?
Enter grandparents. Increased maternal participation in the workforce, alongside reductions in the affordability, availability, and flexibility of formal childcare, have contributed to worldwide increases in grandparents’ involvement as secondary care providers to their grandchildren.
In Australia, approximately 1 in 5 children are cared for by a grandparent when both their parents are working. Among Australian grandparents who report providing childcare at least monthly, almost half provide 10+ hours of care per week. Many are providing 20+ hours of care per week.
Given these figures, it is not surprising that calls have been made for grandparents to be considered important stakeholders in efforts to improve the health habits of children.
And yet, grandparents remain overlooked in these efforts.
We sought to remedy this in a series of seven papers exploring the role of grandparents in promoting healthy eating and physical activity.
Is there truth to the stereotype that kids are fed nothing but sugar when they head to grandma’s?
Are kids spending all of their time watching TV or playing video games?
In short, yes and no.
Diet and nutrition
But there were some things getting in the way of this.
Pressuring children to eat and using food to address negative emotions was linked to greater consumption of unhealthy savoury snacks, like chips. Food fussiness was also tricky to navigate, and was linked to lower intake of fruit and vegetables and greater intake of sweet snacks, like lollies.
When we asked grandparents what barriers they faced when trying to provide healthy food, the food preferences of their grandchildren, the promotion of unhealthy food consumption by their grandchildren’s parents, advertising of unhealthy food, and peer pressure were the most frequently cited.
What helped? Setting limits, making fruit and vegetables appealing, and involving grandchildren in meal planning and cooking.
Physical activity
When it came to physical activity, play-based physical activity was common: most grandparents reported that their grandchildren usually or always play in the back or front yard. Many also reported that their grandchildren played with their dog (if they had one).
But, screen time was high: around one-quarter of the time children spent in the care of their grandparents they spent on screens.
When we asked grandparents what they believe gets in the way of promoting their grandchildren’s physical activity, key barriers include the effort and financial cost associated with organising these activities, their own age and mobility challenges, and a local environment that is not conducive to physical activity (eg, lack of appropriate and safe facilities).
Grandparents reported that their attempts to reduce screen time were thwarted by parents sending children to care with electronic devices, and their grandchildren’s fears of missing out on socialising that happens virtually. Grandparents also reported needing a break sometimes and used screens as respite.
What next?
Based on these findings, grandparents are doing OK, but there is an opportunity to improve.
The good news is that grandparents report being open to receiving support. But it must be the right kind of support.
They know what they should be feeding their grandkids — they don’t need to be told to provide more fruit and vegetables.
Similarly, they don’t need to be told that physical activity is good — they already know how important it is.
What they would like are hints and tips for how to do this.
What are some concrete strategies in which grandparents can engage to help their grandchildren live healthy, active lives?
In response to this unmet need, we created a set of resources for grandparents that support them in their efforts to promote healthy habits in their grandchildren.
For diet and nutrition, these include:
- prioritising structured and consistent meals;
- exposing grandchildren to a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains of differing textures;
- involving grandchildren in food preparation and cooking;
- including treat foods occasionally as part of meals and snacks;
- finding tools to deal with big feelings that don’t involve food; and
- playing and interacting with foods in non-eating situations.
For physical activity, these include:
- getting out and about and heading to the local park or nature reserve;
- encouraging grandkids to walk or play with the dog;
- having play equipment in the home (or asking parents to bring these over when dropping off grandkids);
- taking active transport where possible;
- setting limits on screen time; and
- communicating positive and supportive messages about physical activity.
A final word…
It is worth noting that there is only so much grandparents can do. At the macro level, policy changes could be implemented that address junk food advertising and improve the built environment.
Supporting grandparents is key to improving the lives of children. Let’s not overlook these important caregivers.
Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
The statements or opinions expressed in this article reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy of the AMA, the MJA or InSight+ unless so stated.
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