Grandparents taking care of their grandchildren is something positive for both. For the elderly in particular, this activity improves their cognitive health, as well as increases their self-esteem and sense of productivity. It also helps them lead a more active life, which will have a beneficial impact on their physical and mental state, and It makes them get out of the routine. Of course, family ties are also strengthened. However, you have to be careful not to fall into the slave grandparent syndrome.
Children bring with them their fair share of responsibilities and demand a lot of patience. Therefore, although the health and emotional benefits are considerable, the implicit effort involved in this care must not be forgotten. There can even be an overload for the elderly, known as the slave grandparent syndrome.
The slave grandparent syndrome occurs when they are overwhelmed by the responsibilities involved in caring for their grandchildren. What makes them experience dangerous imbalances that progressively diminish their state of health, both physical and mental. In fact, in these cases there may be physical symptoms related to anxiety, such as dizziness and flushing, high blood pressure, tachycardia, breathing difficulties, sleep and rest problems, and back and joint pain.
This excess will make all the benefits that the restrained care of grandchildren should bring to the opposite. Instead of feeling uplifted and motivated, they will experience feelings of sadness and exhaustion. Instead of considering themselves useful and productive, they will see themselves as incapable and even useless, further causing them to be assailed by guilt.
The children are responsible for maintaining a calm and dialoguing conversation with the grandparents to reverse this situation in the best possible way. It is necessary to put this issue on the table and that grandparents can express themselves freely with their children to make them see what their feelings are, what worries them and, above all, the limitations they must deal with and that they must understand so as not to overload them with work.
This does not mean that the elderly should stop caring for the grandchildren altogether, but it is important to establish a balanced balance. So that they can have moments to enjoy their own free time, their routines and breaks. To this lifestyle, the care of the grandchildren will be added. But what should not happen is the opposite. That is, focus grandparents to dedicate themselves entirely to the little ones in the family while neglecting their personal lives.
