Board games have always been a part of our lives. Most studies highlight their potential for learning in childhood and for maintaining cognitive functions in older people. Nevertheless, regarding the benefits in childhood and older people and the social nature of board games, few studies have investigated the emotional nature of these shared play sessions. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature between 2011 and 2024 to identify the benefits of playing board games for both school-age children and older people in terms of emotional competence. First, we collected 1995 articles with defined keywords from online databases. Then, 11 articles were selected. For older people, most studies reported the usefulness of board games for emotional competencies, especially regarding depression, social interactions and communication. In childhood, board games were found to be an interesting tool for emotional competencies, helping reduce problem behaviors, support pro-social behaviors and emotion-related discussion.

Framed using affection exchange theory, this study aimed to provide a better understanding of grandparent-grandchild relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood by testing the mediating role of affectionate communication between the grandchild’s perception of grandparent-grandchild personality trait similarities and grandchildren’s emotional closeness with their grandparents. 710 French adolescents and emerging adults completed surveys in the context of their relationship with a specific grandparent. Results indicated that adolescents perceived more similarity in their agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism with their grandparents compared to emerging adults, but no significant difference was found for received grandparental affectionate communication. Adolescents also reported greater emotional closeness with their grandparents compared to emerging adults. Mediation analyses partially supported the hypothesized role of received grandparental affection between personality traits similarities and emotional closeness. These findings highlight the role of similarity in personality traits and the importance of affectionate communication to enhance emotional closeness.

ObjectiveWe investigated grandparents' motivations and challenges for grandparent-grandchild outdoor play with their 3- to 5-year-old grandchildren.BackgroundOutdoor play benefits children's and older persons' mental and physical health. Thus, intergenerational outdoor play could benefit both grandparents and their younger grandchildren.MethodSemistructured interviews were conducted with 14 grandparents (seven grandmothers and seven grandfathers) from British Columbia, Canada, who lived in the same province as their grandchildren and who were fluent in English. Grandparents were recruited using a convenience, purposive sampling method with social media advertisements, posters in community centers, and word of mouth.ResultsUsing a thematic analysis, we identified six themes: (a) improving grandparents' and grandchildren's health, (b) supporting children's needs, (c) feeling positive emotions, (d) supporting family closeness, (e) aspiring to go outdoors together, and, (f) maintaining the relationship despite the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionOur study emphasizes the importance of outdoor play for grandparents, especially as they develop their relationship with their young grandchildren. Outdoor play provides a unique opportunity for a health-boosting activity that also strengthens the relationship and family bonds, and supports grandchildren's developmental needs.ImplicationsOur research can contribute to promoting outdoor play across the life span, and more specifically the benefits of outdoor play during early childhood and older adulthood.

ObjectiveThis study explores the perception of intergenerational family board games by three generations (school-age children, parents, and grandparents).BackgroundPlaying board games is a rewarding experience throughout life and is particularly relevant to take into account in intergenerational studies as this activity is often shared by different generations aiming to spend time together.MethodSemistructured interviews were conducted with 30 participants who were recruited through word of mouth and by distributing flyers in local shops such as bakeries, laundromats, or grocery stores. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsBoard games were seen as a way to connect, share values, and understand each other better, evoking many emotions. Participants viewed them as a means to strengthen intergenerational bonds. Each generation experienced unique benefits from board games based on their specific life challenges.ConclusionBoard games offer an efficient means of maintaining family dynamics and provide opportunities for players of different generations to better understand each other and thereby reduce the intergenerational gap.ImplicationsBoard games offer enjoyable family leisure, fostering emotional connections and communication across generations. They help children experience emotions, allow parents to support their children's development, and enable older adults to connect with younger generations.

The habits of families are affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, with limitations to socialization or visits. Grandparents and grandchildren use social media to sustain interpersonal relationships, as well as display intergenerational solidarity to others. This paper presents a qualitative content analysis of the display of different dimensions of intergenerational solidarity between grandparents and grandchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, on TikTok. The analysis extends the understanding of intergenerational solidarity between grandparents and grandchildren on TikTok, by highlighting which characteristics or activities they find important to display to other users of the platform. The results suggest that grandparents and grandchildren value qualities of physical touch and family celebrations (i.e. affectual solidarity), and big life events (i.e. normative solidarity). Moreover, grandparents and grandchildren refrain from consensual solidarity on TikTok, but other categories of intergenerational solidarity provide clues to differences in the public display of their respective roles.

Background: Societal expectations about safety influence parents' risk perceptions and children's risky play opportunities. This study examined parents' propensity to take risks themselves and their propen-sity to accept risks for their child, sex-related differences in parents' propensity to accept risks for their child, and the association between parents' propensity to accept risks for their child and that child's medically-attended injury history. Methods: A total of 467 parents attending a pediatric hospital with their 6-12-year-old child completed a questionnaire about their risk propensity for themselves and for their child and reported their child's injury history. Results: Parents' risk propensity for themselves was significantly higher than for their child, and fathers' risk propensity for themselves was higher than mothers'. Linear regressions showed that fathers reported significantly more propensity to accept risks for their child than mothers, but parents did not differentiate between their sons and daughters. A binary logistic regression showed that parents' propensity to accept risks for their child was a significant predic-tor of pediatric medically-attended injury. Conclusions: Parents were more comfortable in taking risks for themselves than for their child. While fathers were more comfortable with their children engaging in risks than mothers, child's sex was not related to parents' propensity to accept risks for their child. Pediatric injury was predicted by parents' propensity to accept risks for their child. Further research investigating injury type and severity related parent risk propensity is needed to determine how parents' attitudes toward risk might relate to severe injury.& COPY; 2023 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A decline in children’s opportunities for outdoor play was observed during the past decades. Expanding opportunities for outdoor play through intergenerational programs for children and elders could benefit their mental and physical health. This study explores the learnings that Canadian grandparents and their 3- to 5-year-old grandchildren attained through intergenerational outdoor play. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 grandparents from British Columbia, Canada. Using thematic analysis, we identified six themes related to what grandchildren learned, two related to what grandparents learned, and one related to what grandparents and grandchildren learned together during outdoor play. Findings from this study indicate that outdoor play provides a unique opportunity to develop skills that are useful at grandparents’ and grandchildren’s respective life stages and should therefore be supported by educators and other professionals who work with families.

The present study examines emotional closeness between French grandparents and their emerging adult grandchildren. The present study explores facets of the grandparent–grandchild relationship that have not been extensively investigated. It highlights the importance of the grandchildren’s relationship with their grandparents as they reach adulthood and the facets of intergenerational emotional closeness during this period of transition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with 13 grandparents and their emerging adult grandchildren. Four themes were extracted from the thematic analysis of the interviews (emotional bonding; sharing identity, values, and personality; emotional worries and concerns about illness and death; adult role acquisition). The study reveals the depth of the grandparent-emerging adult–grandchild relationship, which is a source not only of love, support, and companionship in their daily life, but also of worries about the future. This study also identifies some hitherto unexplored facets that demonstrate the complexity of this relationship as grandchildren become adults.

Quelle est importance de la nature dans le développement de la relation entre les grands-parents et leurs petits-enfants ? La nature a de nombreux effets bénéfiques sur le bien-être et sur le développement psychologique à tous les âges de la vie. Ici, nous nous intéressons particulièrement aux bénéfices pour les enfants et pour les personnes âgées, et en particulier dans la relation entre les grands-parents et leurs petits-enfants. Les deux générations témoignent des expériences que la nature leur permet de vivre ensemble et des bénéfices ressentis par chacun. La nature est décrite comme un environnement privilégié pour développer une relation intergénérationnelle positive.

Studies on grandchildren and their grandparents have shown the importance of the bond between them for their well-being, the good development of the grandchildren and the grandparents' successful aging. This mutually satisfying intergenerational bond is based on emotional closeness, reciprocal influence and willingness to maintain the relationship throughout life. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of the current literature to explore the bond between grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren and its role in their respective lives. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched four databases for studies published between 2009 and 2019, and selected additional articles from retrieved publications. We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria. We explored the concept of emotional closeness and its measures, identified the variables moderating this bond, and examined outcomes for grandparents and grandchildren. We identified the measures of emotional closeness in the studies and the factors influencing this intergenerational bond; these included personal, environmental and relationship factors (distance, grandparents' health, personality, relationships with parents, communication), as well as psychological outcomes. This review reveals new approaches to the concept of emotional closeness in the grandparent-grandchild relationship through various psychological constructs and variables that should be included in future scales measuring emotional closeness.

In response to the many calls for the advancement of cross-cultural communication research, we compared U.S. and French grandchildren's received grandparental affection and perceptions of their grandparents as ideal (i.e., grandparent attributes and behaviors that grandchildren believe characterize a desirable grandparent). A total of 456 young adult grandchildren from the U.S. (n = 171) and France (n = 285) completed the Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale (GRAS) and the Ideal Grandparent Scale (IGS) in reference to their relationships with a specific grandparent. Results of a MANOVA and an independent samples t-test indicated that, compared to French grandchildren, U.S. grandchildren scored higher on both the GRAS and the IGS. These findings are discussed in reference to how these differences may impact grandchildren and grandparents.

The present study examined what grandchildren would like their grandparents to teach them about ways of seeing the world and of being in the world to help them in their development toward adult life. A questionnaire based on Apter's Reversal Theory and inspired by the literature on grandparenthood proposed motives that could lead adolescents to label their grandparents as "good" grandparents. It was completed by 294 French adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. Results indicate that four broad factors underlie the characteristics of "good" grandparents: teaching their grandchildren prosocial behavior, self-regulation, independence, and above all how to enjoy life.

The aim of this study was to validate a French version of the Grandchildren's Received Affection Scale (GRAS) and to assess the reliability of this scale. A sample of 285 French emerging adults completed the French translation of the GRAS and related measures. Results supported the four-factor model of the French GRAS grounded in Affection Exchange Theory by assessing it's factorial and construct validity. Thus, this study provides intergenerational relationship researchers and clinicians with a valid and reliable tool to assess French-speaking grandchildren's received grandparental affection.