New generation grans

The fifty-something has undergone a radical evolution over time. With greater life expectancy AND an increase in the amount of years we can expect to live in good health, grandparents are becoming younger and staying more active than ever before. They enjoy sport, a social life and even get into technology such as the Internet and mobile phones, which was unheard of among the over-50s not so long ago! Today's grandparents are very modern, and this is reflected in the changed relationships they have with their grandchildren. 

Distance
In times gone by, parents, grandparents and children often used to live together, but that just doesn't happen any more (or very rarely!). However, when asked whether or not they'd seen their grandchildren over the past week, three-quarters of grandparents said they had. Obviously it depends on how close you live, but even at a distance grandparents can make their presence felt - that's what their mobiles and internet connections are for!

Bonding with her grandchild
A bond is soon established between grandchild and grandmother. In 8 out of 10 cases, when a child starts school for the first time, he or she will talk to their gran about it. Grandkids can talk to their gran about anything, from friends, school and holidays to their parents' childhood and their grandparents' lives when they were little. And even when they don't see each other often, grandmothers and grandchildren can phone and email each other regularly. 
 
Doing things together
Here's what one busy gran does when she looks after her grandchildren at the weekends: "I take the older ones swimming, play basketball, tennis and table tennis with them. The younger ones prefer stories or playing with dolls." 

The top 10 activities grandmothers do with their grandkids are: going for walks (7 out of 10 grandparents); going out for a meal, spending weekends together; collecting the grandkids from school and looking after them afterwards; educational/cultural activities and, of course, cooking!