by Mona Rigdon

Created on: September 23, 2008

It has become an increasingly popular practice for children to "adopt" grandparents. Some kids adopt an older person because their grandparents are deceased, while others my simply meet someone they love like a grandparent. Others have grandparents that live far away, or perhaps their families are estranged. Whatever the reason, adopting a grandparent can have wonderful benefits for both the child, and the grandparent. Children become aware of and learn respect for the elderly by being around older generations. This gives the child the benefit of the wisdom of a grandparent, and the feelings of acceptance that comes from having someone to listen and be there. Further, many elderly people, especially shut-ins and nursing home residents, can benefit from interaction with children and younger adults. It isn't only young children that adopt grandparents. Many young adults do so as well.

Being around the elderly can be a rewarding and fun experience. For kids that don't get to experience Grandma's chocolate cake, or Great Aunt Sally's wonderfully knitted sweaters and scarves, the idea of having a grandparent to love is alluring. Some children that are blessed enough to have grandparents in their lives might not understand this up front, dreading the big smoochy kisses and pinched cheeks that often go along with the territory. Even better than cookies or mittens are the bits of wisdom that grandparents are able to impart, often in a much less imposing way than a parent. "You can catch more flies with honey" is often a good lesson taught by grandparents, whose tempers have mellowed in their advanced years. Further, nothing is as fun as playing Dominoes or Bingo with a competitive Granny or Gramps. Even more interesting are the grandparents in good physical shape who go sky diving or rollerblading. For those that can't, one shouldn't wrongly assume an afternoon spent inside with an adopted grandparent will be tedious or boring. Most likely the afternoon will be spent reliving marvelous adventures, and listening to hilarious antics. Kids learn to appreciate the value of experience and wisdom, and grandparents learn to appreciate again the innocence and joys of youth. The Geritol generation and the iPod generation learn to not look upon one another with disdain.

Some scout troops and other organizations sponsor Adopt A Grandparent events for local nursing homes and shut ins. The adoptive child or young adult agrees to visit and check on their grandparent regularly. Most of the time, children bring small gifts like homemade cards or other crafts, stuffed animals, or small tokens of affection for their grandparent. These visits are very prized occurrences at nursing homes where many residents never have visitors, and can feel lost and abandoned. This type of interaction helps keep up morale, and has a tendency to slow the onset of certain types of dementia, anxiety and depression.

The benefits of young and old coming together are numerous for the individuals involved, and for society as a whole. For those kids and young adults who do not have or are missing their own grandparents, spending time with elderly people might help to fill a void. Having a new person to respect and admire in life can bring a new dimension of care and compassion and understanding that will help to bridge the generation gap, and perhaps inspire young people to help solve some of the problems faced by aging America today. Adopting a grandparent could just save the world!

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