YP Comment: Priceless role of grandparents
Their role is not insignificant – a new report reveals that they save families a combined total of £16bn a year in childcare costs and grandparents spend, on average, eight hours a week looking after their grandchildren.
Frankly the contribution that grandparents make is worth far more than £16bn – it is priceless and yet it also poses challenging issues for society about work-life balance. For, as more people start working beyond their retirement age out of financial necessity, who then is going to look after youngsters and provide the stability, and familiarity, that is so important to children during their formative years? It’s an age-old question that isn’t going away in the near future.