Grandma wants you to have more children

For the decade I was with my husband before we wed, my extended family had one question for us: When are you two getting married? Every family reunion, wedding of one of my cousins or catch up phone call somehow elicited that question.

Then we married (on our schedule, not theirs) and the question changed to, "When are you two having children?" This, of course, has been followed up with "When are you having another?" after the birth of our first (and only) child.

To my mother's credit, she wasn't one of the people asking those questions (thanks, Mom!) Although, I am sure that if I were to have another child, she would be over-the-moon ecstatic, because she is one of those nurturing grandmothers.

And it turns out that the nurturing grandmother can actually influence parents into...

Actually, hold on for a moment. Ummm...Mom? Can you just stop reading here? I don't want to give you any ideas. The rest of this post is totally not interesting. Really. I'll call you later. I love you!

It turns out that the nurturing grandmother can actually influence parents into having more children. In a study done by the University of Eastern Finland, researchers found that grandparents who were available for emotional support and childcare help could actually sway their children into expanding their families. The study also found that children who had a high level of interaction with their grandparents were less likely to have behavioral problems.

Last year I talked about a very cool study which posited that grandparents were evolutionary necessary to the survival of the species. Of course, the human race is doing just fine these days, but I can't help but wonder if this is what the modern-day equivalent of that evolution looks like.

Do you rely on grandparents for help with your children? Share with me in the comments while I wait for a text from my Mom about having another little one.