Granny nannies
Discussion
A third of grandparents now take care of their grandchildren while the parents are working.
Due to the need for two earner households and the high cost of childcare this is becoming more and more common.
Telegraph article
Modern mothers rely on granny to be nanny
By Sarah Womack Social Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 30/11/2005)
The idea that most grandmothers retire into an unburdened world of bridge-playing and gardening is an outdated fantasy.
As many as one in three now does the school run and the majority of child care for her own children, becoming what Americans have dubbed "granny nannies".
‘Chief babysitter’: Jill Kirk and her granddaughter Carys
Research shows that the Government's drive to get mothers back to work, the two-career mortgage and the high cost of child care have redefined the role of grandparents.
Modern grandmothers regularly look after their grandchildren, even while providing comfort for elderly relatives, and sometimes while holding down a part-time job.
A third of grandparents take care of their grandchildren while the parents are working or simply out. This is particularly true of those grandparents under 65, with just over half offering some kind of child care assistance, according to the research, Women's Changing Lifestyles, by Mintel.
The child care is, of course, unpaid; tax breaks for working parents who employ child carers are no help when grandmothers are involved.
Grandmothers also take on a host of other responsibilities. More than one in 10 helps grown-up children and stepchildren with domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, DIY and shopping.
A further eight per cent offer similar general household support to an older relative. One in 20 looks after a relative who does not live with them and almost one in five offers regular financial support to their grown-up children.
However the move towards older parenthood and, in turn, older grandparenthood means that grandparents will be less able to help out in the future.
Now that women are having babies in their early 40s, new grandparents are likely to be in their early 70s, which can make looking after grandchildren a near impossibility.
Don Steel, the policy director of the Association of Retired and Persons over 50, accused the Government yesterday of "abdicating its responsibility for families" by piling pressure on retired parents.
"Society has changed dramatically and the economic demands of the country are such that in most families both parents go out to work.
"The cost of child care is huge and the number who have turned to their parents to look after the children has multiplied but it is an extraordinarily difficult problem for some.
"Grandparents are being depended on and feel a responsibility to their children and can't easily get out of it. Most want to do it.
"The problem is that child care is under-funded and council tax needs to be raised to enable local authorities to pay for it, but they refuse to raise council tax.
"Grandparents should get proper recognition and we would support payment to grandparents in the form of some kind of Government subsidy."
A recent report by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that 39 per cent of grandparents would prefer a life free from too many family duties.
A majority of grandparents expressed anxiety about caring for grandchildren to such an extent that it became "a burden".
While they wanted to be involved, they did not necessarily want to commit themselves to another decade of regular child care or to be standby babysitters.
Jean Stogdon, 77, the chairman of Grandparents Plus, said that while the current generation of mothers had grown up with the expectation of women being treated as equal with men, they did not apply the same principles to their own mothers.
Research by the Future Foundation for the Abbey bank found that 64 per cent of the population believed that grandparents should be officially recognised as carers and given a Government subsidy.
Due to the need for two earner households and the high cost of childcare this is becoming more and more common.
Telegraph article
Modern mothers rely on granny to be nanny
By Sarah Womack Social Affairs Correspondent
(Filed: 30/11/2005)
The idea that most grandmothers retire into an unburdened world of bridge-playing and gardening is an outdated fantasy.
As many as one in three now does the school run and the majority of child care for her own children, becoming what Americans have dubbed "granny nannies".
‘Chief babysitter’: Jill Kirk and her granddaughter Carys
Research shows that the Government's drive to get mothers back to work, the two-career mortgage and the high cost of child care have redefined the role of grandparents.
Modern grandmothers regularly look after their grandchildren, even while providing comfort for elderly relatives, and sometimes while holding down a part-time job.
A third of grandparents take care of their grandchildren while the parents are working or simply out. This is particularly true of those grandparents under 65, with just over half offering some kind of child care assistance, according to the research, Women's Changing Lifestyles, by Mintel.
The child care is, of course, unpaid; tax breaks for working parents who employ child carers are no help when grandmothers are involved.
Grandmothers also take on a host of other responsibilities. More than one in 10 helps grown-up children and stepchildren with domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, DIY and shopping.
A further eight per cent offer similar general household support to an older relative. One in 20 looks after a relative who does not live with them and almost one in five offers regular financial support to their grown-up children.
However the move towards older parenthood and, in turn, older grandparenthood means that grandparents will be less able to help out in the future.
Now that women are having babies in their early 40s, new grandparents are likely to be in their early 70s, which can make looking after grandchildren a near impossibility.
Don Steel, the policy director of the Association of Retired and Persons over 50, accused the Government yesterday of "abdicating its responsibility for families" by piling pressure on retired parents.
"Society has changed dramatically and the economic demands of the country are such that in most families both parents go out to work.
"The cost of child care is huge and the number who have turned to their parents to look after the children has multiplied but it is an extraordinarily difficult problem for some.
"Grandparents are being depended on and feel a responsibility to their children and can't easily get out of it. Most want to do it.
"The problem is that child care is under-funded and council tax needs to be raised to enable local authorities to pay for it, but they refuse to raise council tax.
"Grandparents should get proper recognition and we would support payment to grandparents in the form of some kind of Government subsidy."
A recent report by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that 39 per cent of grandparents would prefer a life free from too many family duties.
A majority of grandparents expressed anxiety about caring for grandchildren to such an extent that it became "a burden".
While they wanted to be involved, they did not necessarily want to commit themselves to another decade of regular child care or to be standby babysitters.
Jean Stogdon, 77, the chairman of Grandparents Plus, said that while the current generation of mothers had grown up with the expectation of women being treated as equal with men, they did not apply the same principles to their own mothers.
Research by the Future Foundation for the Abbey bank found that 64 per cent of the population believed that grandparents should be officially recognised as carers and given a Government subsidy.
wanty1974 said:
Research by the Future Foundation for the Abbey bank found that 64 per cent of the population believed that grandparents should be officially recognised as carers and given a Government subsidy.
The problem with that would be that the government would need to collect more tax to pay the subsidies, therefore negating any cost saving. People should perhaps give some money directly to the grandparents, that way avoiding 70,000 miles of government red tape, bureaucracy and waste, and the grandparents get something for their trouble.
Witchfinder said:
The problem with that would be that the government would need to collect more tax to pay the subsidies, therefore negating any cost saving. People should perhaps give some money directly to the grandparents, that way avoiding 70,000 miles of government red tape, bureaucracy and waste, and the grandparents get something for their trouble.
But why should tax relief by available for paid child careers but not for unpaid ones?
wanty1974 said:
Research by the Future Foundation for the Abbey bank found that 64 per cent of the population believed that grandparents should be officially recognised as carers and given a Government subsidy.
hmmm like a pension for instance? i'm sorry - looking after your grandkids is a duty - not a paid job. if caring for each other comes down to the govt having to pay more for it it'll be a very sad day!
I'm sure that to some degree the novelty will wear off for some grandparents and a happy time will become a chore.
However, my sister has recently had my parent's first grandchild.
They will look after that baby whenever they can. Not a case of my sister needing babysitting but a case of them WANTING to spend as much time as possible with their grandson.
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a child, they wanted to spend time with me and my sisters. I just dont see that as unusual...
Something is very wrong when people are asking the government to PAY them for looking after their grandchildren. That strikes me as very very wrong somehow. Cant put my finger on it to explain exactly why, but its just not right to ask for compensation for looking after family.
However, my sister has recently had my parent's first grandchild.
They will look after that baby whenever they can. Not a case of my sister needing babysitting but a case of them WANTING to spend as much time as possible with their grandson.
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents as a child, they wanted to spend time with me and my sisters. I just dont see that as unusual...
Something is very wrong when people are asking the government to PAY them for looking after their grandchildren. That strikes me as very very wrong somehow. Cant put my finger on it to explain exactly why, but its just not right to ask for compensation for looking after family.
I rely on Dieselnut's parents and my grandad to look after mini-WD so I can work, but I work on a free-lance basis and as such choose both the hours that I work and the work that I do - some jobs I can take Alex with me.
I was offered a job back at Debenhams - I left there a couple of years ago because they couldn't offer me any more hours (5 on a sunday weren't really enough to live on, and I have never claimed benefits), and they were now in a position to offer me 20 hours.
I looked at putting Alex into a nursery for the 20 hours - one full day and two half days. A full day, at the time of looking, was £25 with a half day being £15, so £55/week = £220/month.
My wages at debenhams would have been around the £5/hr mark, making my monthly nwages around £280 pre-tax. I literally couldn't afford to go back to work if it meant putting him in nursery, and it wasn't a viable option to ask assorted relatives to commit to having him regulary.
However, when they do look after him, they don't expect paying - I occasionally buy a bunch of flowers or box of chocolates to show our appreciation and even then get told it is unnecessary as he is their grandson!
What would be nice, however, is if the government would recognise grandparents etc as proper carers, as then families would be entitled to the childcare element of the working tax credit, which I'm sure would make a difference.
At the end of the day, although a grandparent may not want paying, they still have the extra costs incurred of food, drink, toys, trips out, etc.
I was offered a job back at Debenhams - I left there a couple of years ago because they couldn't offer me any more hours (5 on a sunday weren't really enough to live on, and I have never claimed benefits), and they were now in a position to offer me 20 hours.
I looked at putting Alex into a nursery for the 20 hours - one full day and two half days. A full day, at the time of looking, was £25 with a half day being £15, so £55/week = £220/month.
My wages at debenhams would have been around the £5/hr mark, making my monthly nwages around £280 pre-tax. I literally couldn't afford to go back to work if it meant putting him in nursery, and it wasn't a viable option to ask assorted relatives to commit to having him regulary.
However, when they do look after him, they don't expect paying - I occasionally buy a bunch of flowers or box of chocolates to show our appreciation and even then get told it is unnecessary as he is their grandson!
What would be nice, however, is if the government would recognise grandparents etc as proper carers, as then families would be entitled to the childcare element of the working tax credit, which I'm sure would make a difference.
At the end of the day, although a grandparent may not want paying, they still have the extra costs incurred of food, drink, toys, trips out, etc.
wd* said:
What would be nice, however, is if the government would recognise grandparents etc as proper carers, as then families would be entitled to the childcare element of the working tax credit, which I'm sure would make a difference.
At the end of the day, although a grandparent may not want paying, they still have the extra costs incurred of food, drink, toys, trips out, etc.
My thoughts exactly
andy mac said:
So basically everyone else will have to pay more tax, so that someones parents can babysit? Sounds fair to me
Not necessarily. Maybe encouraging mothers to go back to work would negate it as the extra hours worked and tax paid would compensate.
Personally speaking if they had agreed to pay the same as we get now(tax credits) to the ex's mother so that she could go out and work more (thus paying the extra tax to partially negate the £30 a week we get) I would have been more than happy.
This would have meant an expenditure of £15 a week by the government rather than the £30 a week they give us now
Eg If she worked an extra 15 hours it would get the government an approx extra £15 a week in tax and NI, while at the same time giving us additional disposable income to spend in the economy(additional VAT) and allowing her to feel a bit less like a strain on our resources as she has done in the not too distant past.
Swings and roundabouts
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