Baby boomers may be baffled by many aspects of millennial parenting, but one thing’s for sure about grandma and grandpa; they’re benefitting by spending time with our kids.

Let your parents know that new research out of the University of Michigan via its National Poll on Healthy Aging confirms that older adults who have grandchildren and see them regularly have better mental health and are less lonely than their grandchild-less peers. You’re welcome, mom and dad.

The poll found that 60% of men and women over the age of 50 had at least one grandchild under the age of 18 (step-grandchildren, adopted grandchildren, and great-grandchildren included). These folks were more likely than those without any grandchildren to say they hardly ever feel isolated, and less likely to consider their mental health “fair” or “poor.”

Experts say that spending so much time with grandkids can help spark a youthful side in older adults. Some may see it as a way to redeem themselves, so to speak, from mistakes they made in raising their own children, while others like to spend time with and set a good example for their grandkids knowing the younger generation is a reflection of the legacy they’ll one day leave behind.

As for the frequency at which grandparents see their grandchildren? The poll found that 49% of grandparents care for their grandkids at least once every few months, 20% at least once a week, and 8% daily, proving that parents are relying more and more on in-laws and parents to help share in many parts of child rearing.

Speaking from experience, many of us parents with little ones may ask a grandparent to help out when a child is sick but we can’t take off work, if the nanny or babysitter calls out sick or is on vacation, or when kids have random days off school (it’s been rough in my house in November since we’ve had no school for my state’s teachers’ convention and my district’s parent/teacher conferences).

There’s also a monetary aspect to this relationship, according to the poll. 32% of grandparents admit to financially supporting their grandchildren in some way in the past year, whether that was for day-to-day expenses like food and clothes, private school or education-related bills, or big ticket items such as summer camp and daycare.

I’m lucky that my kids have three sets of grandparents — my parents are divorced and remarried, plus I have in-laws — who all live within an hour from me. Each of them wants to spend as much time with my kids as we’ll let them, and they all genuinely try to make life easier for my husband and I by pitching in however they can. My in-laws will offer to take my son for a sleepover every other month or so, my step-mom goes nuts in the kids’ clothing department every season, and my mom insists on buying all the most expensive items on the kids’ birthday and holiday wish lists.

Science has also proven that kids benefit from quality time with nana and papa (or whatever affectionate name your kiddos call your parents). Hopefully all kids are so lucky to have grandparents to look up to as role models and as emotional soundboards, in addition to having them as babysitters. Plus, who other than grandma and grandpa is going to give your kiddo three scoops of ice cream for dinner?

How often do your kids see their grandparents?

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