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| Grandparents -
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| The unsung heroes of child care
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How much are they giving up?
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October is officially Grandparents' month around the world and many countries, including Australia, hold a National Grandparents' Day, when we have the chance to celebrate everything that these unsung heroes have done and continue to do for our families and communities.
Due to both the cost and lack of availability in some areas - more and more grandparents are now their grandchildren's primary carers while parents are at work.
In fact, according to the Bureau of Statistics, grandparents are the most popular type of child care in Australia, and 837,000 children were looked after by their grandparents each week in 2014. 97% of these grandparent carers are unpaid, and most probably wouldn't dream of asking for financial compensation for their time and energy. And it's not just childminding; many children rely on their grandparents for social, physical, emotional and educational support as well.
According to research, four out of five children are often cared for by a grandparent and almost two-thirds of all grandparents regularly look after their grandchildren.
A University of NSW study of how child care responsibilities affect the work and retirement plans of grandparents showed that almost three quarters said they believe child care is a normal part of being a grandparent and they enjoy it.
But there is a fine line to tread, because the research also revealed that one in five grandparents would like to provide less care than they do.
Grandparents who provide 13 hours or more of care a week feel pressure to do so and are more likely to find it difficult to juggle work and care.
UNSW social policy researcher Myra Hamilton said grandparents were making enormous personal sacrifices to provide child care.
"Our expectations of grandparents are extremely high. We're asking them to juggle their child care responsibilities and their labour market responsibilities," she said.
Dr Hamilton says grandparent child care is absolutely essential for the functioning of the family unit and in addition to providing regular care, grandparents also act as a back-up plan for families, stepping in during school holidays, when someone is sick or in times of crisis.
Dr Hamilton's research found 70 per cent of grandparents had changed the days they worked, and 55 per cent had cut back the hours they worked so they could provide child care.
In fact, child care responsibilities take precedence over work for half of all grandparents.
In an article in the Sun Herald, National Seniors chief executive Michael O'Neill said today's grandparents had a lot of demands placed on them.
"It's important their children are aware they can be overloaded, and respect the rights of grandparents to fulfil their own life," he said. "They have to find the right balance".
Mr O'Neill said that although grandparents were not motivated by money to provide child care, their offspring needed to be aware they were often on a fixed income (either a pension or superannuation stream).
"The cost of providing care is significant and does impact on people," he said.
Dr. Hamilton called on policy makers to start recognising the child care contribution of grandparents and the impact it was having on their labour market participation.
One-quarter of grandparents said their child care responsibilities had affected the timing of their retirement and more than half of grandparents believe the government should compensate them for the care they provide.
Recent media reports suggest the Turnbull government could in fact be considering just this; a plan to offer financial compensation to grandparents who help working families with child care.
Queensland senator Scott Lazarus has submitted a proposal to Treasurer Scott Morrison about offering financial incentives to grandparents and Tasmanian independent Jacquie Lambie has also raised the issue of a grandparent child care payment with Mr Morrison.
Speaking to 9 News Senator Lazarus said families in rural areas found it especially difficult to access child care services and increasingly relied on grandparents for support.
"Many families are now leaning on grandparents to assist in the care of children while the parents go off to work because the cost of child care in Queensland has increased so dramatically over the past few years," he said.
While no time frames have been offered the treasurer has pledged to review and consider the proposal.
If you're worried about the load you're placing on your parents as carers of your children, click here for a useful article on how to successfully manage grandparent care and keep family relationships intact! |
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