New research highlights active role that grandfathers play

A report published today by childcare charity Daycare Trust has shattered the traditional image of grandparent carers, revealing a greater gender balance than previously thought, and a generation of ‘super-grandparents’ combining employment with childcare responsibilities.

The research, which is the first part of the organisation’s Big Lottery funded project ‘Informal Childcare: Choice or Chance?’ , has also underlined the crucial childcare role that grandparents, other relatives and friends play in keeping the labour market functioning and the economy going.

Key findings:

• Seven million adults in the UK –14 per cent of the adult population ­– regularly provide informal childcare.
• Over half of parents use some informal childcare, with 36 per cent of families using grandparents for this care.  Four million grandparent carers in the UK provide an average 10 hours of childcare each per week.
• A generation of youthful ‘super grandparents’, with 59% of grandparents regularly caring for their grandchildren aged 64 and under, and often still in employment themselves.
• 40 per cent of grandparent carers are male, showing that grandfathers play a much larger role than previously thought.
• By far the largest reason (56 per cent) that parents reported using informal childcare was to enable them to work. The high cost of formal childcare (such as nurseries and childminders), was the biggest factor in parents choosing family and friends, but issues relating to trust were also important. 
• Use of informal childcare varies significantly by region. Some 68 per cent of parents in Scotland have relied on relative care in the last six months, compared to just 27 per cent in London.
• There is little demand among grandparents for financial reward for providing childcare. However, Daycare Trust recommends a greater involvement of grandparent carers at Sure Start Children’s Centres, and more resources for them to support their grandchildren’s learning and development.

Anand Shukla, acting Chief Executive of Daycare Trust said:

“Friends and family play a huge role in providing childcare, and our economy and society are reliant on this hidden army of informal carers.

This research also confirms our belief that formal childcare must be made more affordable, so that parents can choose childcare based on what is best for their child and themselves, rather than being constrained by financial factors.”