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Irish Wedding News

12/11/2013

10m Grandparents Look After Their Grandchildren

The number of grandparents providing free childcare for their grandchildren has increased by 60% over the last five years.

According to new research by insurance group RIAS, almost 10 million grandparents are now looking after their grandkids as the cost of nurseries or professional childminders increase.

Its '21st Century Grandparenting' Report, found that, since 2009, the amount of money parents have said by allowing their elderly parents to look after their children has more than trebled, reaching £16.4bn a year. In 2009, around 6.1 million grandparents provided childcare for their children – this figure now stands at 9.8 million.

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When broken down, on average, couples whose parents take over childcare duties get more than eight hours a week of free babysitting, saving them more than £1,650 a year.

This amount jumped to an average of £2,437 in London, where costs were found to be the highest.

Furthermore, grandparents were also found to spend almost £2,000 a year to help their children buy toys and clothes, and pay for pocket money and leisure activities.

However, as a result, the report also found that it is placing an increasing burden in time and money on retired couples as more try to help their grown-up children make ends meet.

A quarter of retired couples were discovered to dip into their own savings to subsidise their grandchildren, while one in 10 have gone into debt to help their children's families.

The report said: "The financial climate is a key factor on people turning to their parents to cut the cost of childcare. One in ten are aware that childcare can be an imposition but feel they have no other option."

Peter Corfield, of RIAS, added: "It is important that older generations are not merely seen as a money-saving measure when it comes to babysitting. The time, energy and experience grandparents give can mean sacrificing their own plans and ambitions."

(JP/CD)

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"The number of grandparents providing free childcare for their grandchildren has increased by 60% over the last five years."