If you’ve ever known the relief of a grandmother’s embrace or the comfort of pulling up in her driveway and knowing that a hot meal was waiting for you, then you probably don’t need any research to tell you that a grandmother’s presence has restorative effects.
Though we can’t precisely quantify the effect of a grandmother’s love, a Finnish study offers statistical proof that grandmothers do help children weather life’s hardships.
How do grandmothers protect us?
Researchers at the University of Turku, in Finland, looked at data collected in a 2007 survey completed by 1,566 English and Welsh youth, ages 11 to 16. Youth who lived with their grandparents or who did not have at least one living grandparent were excluded from the study.
The survey included a behavioral screening questionnaire to measure the young people’s emotional and behavioral problems.
