Grandparents play key role in care when children are at home sick

GRANDPARENTS are an important part of family life for Irish nine-year-olds, but they are having to pick up the slack to help with childcare, especially when a youngster is sick.

Whether it is regular visits or stepping into a carer role, Ireland’s grannies and grandads are there for the generations coming behind.

The latest ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study found working parents of young children rely heavily on their own parents to help out in a crisis, but they also play a wider role.

More than 65pc of nine-yearolds see their grandparents at least once a week, while 88pc have a close relationship with at least one grandparent.

The study found that in over 20pc of two-parent families, where both parents were employed, it was grandparents who stepped in when a child was too sick to go to school.

The figure was higher in one-parent families, where the parent was working, with care for a sick child falling to a grandparent in 28pc of cases.

Previous releases of data about this cohort of children highlight a strong involvement of grandparents.

In 2011, some 11pc were being minded by grandparents. Grandparents’ generosity also extended to being the most likely babysitter (50pc), and buying clothes (40pc) at least on a monthly basis.

The big benefit that grandparents bring to families is underscored in other research, known as Tilda, which is tracking the lives of 7,500 people in Ireland over the age of 50. It is being carried out by Trinity College Dublin. It reported in 2015 that around 60pc of grandparents had looked after their grandchildren at some point in the previous month.

Of grandparents providing childcare, almost 20pc looked after grandchildren for more than 60 hours a month, which, in some cases, heightened the risk of suffering depressive symptoms.