Grandparents and Childcare

After your children grow up and leave home, life changes. The family ‘nest’ is no longer full, and your focus shifts away from that of a full-time parent. For many parents, this is the period when ‘empty nest syndrome’ begins, and it can be a challenge adapting to an unfamiliar lifestyle.

For many, the nest isn’t empty for too long. In only a few short years, your adult children may start getting married and having children of their own. Now, you’re stepping forward into a new role. Your family is growing again, and you’re taking on a fresh title - that of the grandparent.

Being a grandparent means taking on a new family role. For some grandparents, this role involves connecting with family through visits and family activities. Other grandparents take a more active role, helping to look after grandchildren.

A study undertaken by Australian Institute of Family Studies, released last month, looked at the child care provided by grandparents, the reasons for this grandparent child care, and also how grandparents experience this child care. The research used the third ‘Families in Australia Survey’, which ran May–June 2021. A total of 2,383 survey respondents self-identified as grandparents.

The results showed:

• Two in five grandparents with a grandchild aged under 13 years were providing some child care. The proportion providing child care was higher (63 per cent) if the youngest grandchild was under 10 years rather than 10–12 years (33 per cent).
• Just over one in four grandparents with a grandchild aged under 13 years were providing child care at least once a week. More frequent child care was more likely for younger grandchildren.
• Grandparent child care is more often on a casual or occasional basis (62 per cent of those providing child care), compared to regular (39 per cent) or school holiday (26 per cent) child care. About one in five grandparents provide a combination of these, such as providing school holiday child care as well as occasional child care.
• Most often, grandparents provide child care to support parents’ work. Grandparents’ desire to connect and build relationships with grandchildren and family was fundamental to them taking on this child care.
• Providing child care was typically a positive experience for grandparents, with 97 per cent saying they enjoyed providing the child care. Caring for grandchildren was seen to be centred on family relationships and connections. Even when child care was reported to be tiring, some also found it energising.
• Some grandparents reported on challenges of providing child care. Speaking up when requests for child care were too demanding or too disruptive appeared to be an important factor in protecting the wellbeing of grandparents.
• Barriers to grandparent care were apparent across some domains: distance, breakdown in family relationships, child’s age, and personal barriers such as age, health, and having other caring or employment commitments. Distance mattered even more within the context of COVID 19.

If you are interested in learning more about this study, you can access the full report HERE.

• Topics:

• Seniors
• Childcare
• Parenting