Grandparents pulling their weight at home
New research shows that grandparents match formal care when it comes to providing care for children of working mothers.
Grandparents play a key role in the modern Australian family with new research showing that almost the same proportion of children are being cared for by their grandparents as are in long day care centres.
The report, Trends in Maternal Employment and Child Care, by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) found that nearly half of children under three years old of employed mothers were cared for – at least part of the time – by their grandparents.
The AIFS said the report provided the first comprehensive analysis of trends in childcare in Australia from 1984 to 2011 with a particular focus on children with employed mothers.
The report showed that in the early 1980s about four in 10 mothers were employed, compared to more than six in 10 in 2011. AIFS senior research fellow Dr Jennifer Baxter said grandparent-provided care was used by a large proportion of Australian families as mothers sought to find ways to manage childcare while holding down paid jobs.
She said four in 10 children under three years old were cared for by a grandparent at some time during the week – almost the same proportion of children who spent time in a long day-care centre (47 per cent).
Similarly, one third of children aged between three and five years were cared for by a grandparent, which again was roughly the same proportion as those attending a pre-school or a long day-care centre.
“Grandparents were still busy even when children reached school age, with around 16 per cent of children with employed mothers being cared for by a grandparent, only slightly fewer than the 18 per cent of children who were in outside school care.”
Dr Baxter said that opting for informal care was often a matter of preference among families with young children.
She said:
“Involving grandparents is something we know that many parents seek out as a childcare option because children are still being cared for by family in a home-based setting.”
Families were looking for family-based solutions so they could maintain the care of children themselves where possible, squeezing in work around caring for children or by bringing in grandparents, Dr Baxter added.
Responding to the research, National Seniors said it undermined claims that older Australians were a drain on the economy.
“The report touches on the vast contribution – from volunteering to childcare – that older Australians are quietly making across the economy every day,” said National Seniors chief executive, Michael O’Neill.
“Older people play a vital role in today’s working family: they’re providing childcare for their adult children and helping them into their first homes to the tune of $22 billion a year.
“Most older Australians are already working beyond pension age – they’re just not getting paid for it. Put simply, when it comes to family, and their grandkids, seniors would not have it any other way,” O’Neill said.
Through volunteering, National Seniors estimated the over-50s contribute around $3.12 billion a year to the economy.
