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55% say grandparents should be paid for child care
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A recent poll in the Sydney Morning Herald resulted in 55% of respondents saying that grandparents should be paid for child care.
The poll was held by the SMH on the back of its article reporting on a survey commissioned by the Australian Seniors Insurance Agency that revealed 37% of Grandparents want to be paid for child care, although this is likely to be more due to reticence to speak out.
- 23% of grandparents polled said they would like to look after their grandchildren less than they do
- 58% say they have had to sacrifice their own lifestyle and recreation
- 30% have had to alter their own work arrangements.
These figures are supported by CareforKids.com.au research which revealed a significant increase in the number of grandparent carers from 16 per cent in 2014 to 22 per cent in 2015.
The Australian Seniors Insurance Agency Survey say that around 937,000 children in Australia are being looked after by their grandparents for an average, of 16 hours per week.
Based on a rate of $8.50 per hour, this means grandparent carers are saving the country $127.4 million per week in childcare costs, because most are not paid for it.
ASIA spokesman Simon Hovell says that many grandparents won't speak up because they feel uncomfortable about asking for money. He said: "There is a stigma around asking for money. It's reasonable to assume that there is a percentage of grandparents who would like to be paid, but feel uncomfortable asking for it".
The issue of how to pay grandparent carers has been around for some time, but is yet to be formally addressed in Australia. In the UK grandparents receive special welfare payments caring for a child under the age of 12.
Last year, the Australian Government's National Commission of Audit recommended grandparents be eligible for a childcare payment, but Treasurer Scott Morrison makes the same assumption about his own parents as many people do about theirs: "For those who are doing the normal thing like my parents do and a lot of people's parents do then, no, the government isn't considering that."
Is it really "normal" or right to expect grandparents to give up their retirement to be child carers for our children? They have, after all, spent much of their life parenting us. Don't they deserve to relax and let the next generation take over the reins?
Of course the majority of grandparents love spending time with their grandchildren. Studies have shown that maintaining regular contact with younger children after menopause contributes to better memory and faster cognitive speed, but studies also show that over 20 per cent of grandparents who are responsible for caring for young children 30 or more hours a week meet the criteria for clinical depression.
Let's face it, the relationship between parent and child is a fine balancing act at any age! It's all about compromise, understanding, give and take, empathy, not taking advantage and acknowledging each other's independence and opinions.
Sometimes we can only see or hear what we want to, especially when we're busy and stressed with work. Don't ignore any inkling you might have that your parent is unhappy or tired or feeling put upon. Don't make any assumptions about how they're feeling about child care.
The best way to manage the relationship is to make sure that there is open and honest communication; that boundaries are set at the beginning and kept to; that agreements over time, expenses, expectations, discipline and parenting styles are made and stuck to.
What you don't want is for your child care needs to come between you and your parents or parents in law and damage your relationship long term.
For a comprehensive article on grandparent carers, click here.
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