Are grandparents being treated unfairly?
While keeping childcare in the family can seem like a good option - and often is - it seems that many grandparents are left feeling as if they are being taken for granted. For working parents, leaving their child with someone that they know, trust - and don't have to pay - can seem like an ideal situation, but what effect does this have on the grandparents?
A top family expert has even suggested that grandparents are being turned into a 'cheap safety net' for childcare. However - it's not by parents that grandparents are being exploited, but by the State, the experts suggest. While in many other European countries parents are entitled to transfer parental leave to the grandparents - and grandparents are even allowed to take time off work if their grandchild is sick - in this country there is no such option. The Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus, Sam Smethers, has suggested that we should take steps to make things easier for grandparents in this country - such as giving them flexible working hours (if they are working), so that they have less balls to juggle and are more able to manage their time without building up too much resentment!
In the meantime, if your parents help you with childcare - make sure you let them know how grateful you are once in a while (a box of chocolates or nice bottle of wine probably wouldn't go amiss either!)
If you want to read more about grandparents, why not check out gurgle's feature on Grandparents and new babies. You can also upload a special photo of your little one with his grandparent into our Grandparents gallery.
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Mothercare
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