Welsh mums – and grandmothers – tell us

IT’S non-stop bustle at a mother and toddler group in Pontarddulais. But when visitors start to look around they soon notice one thing – where are all the mothers?

Most of those keeping an eye on youngsters at the group are grandmothers, not mums.

Pitter Patter day nursery is a microcosm of a wider national picture, where parents are being forced to adapt to a changing world. Rising house prices and squeezed wages – combined with spiralling childcare costs – are making stay-at-home parenting a thing of the past.

In past generations, one parent would often be able to stay at home to look after their children, but since 2009 grandparent child carers have increased by 49%, according to social networking site Gransnet.

Wales currently gets the worst deal in the UK for childcare: parents in England get 15 hours of free childcare a week, in Scotland 16, Ireland 12.5 and Wales 10 for all three and four year olds.

However, a new scheme being trialled in parts of Wales will see parents with children aged three and four get 30 hours of free childcare a week. If successful, it could be rolled out across the rest of the country. Pitter Patter’s weekly mother and toddler group runs at Carmel Church in Pontarddulais. Pam retired early to look after her grandchildren and takes her granddaughter to the playgroup once a week. She cannot help but think about their futures: “For me it’s the pensions. They’ve stopped people having their pensions until they’re 66 or 70 – how are youngsters like these going to have a job? Older people are taking up the jobs.

“We’re paying for old people to be in work... and the youngsters, they’re not going to start work until they’re in their 30s, how can they ever retire? It’s such a shame for the little ones.”

Ann Ohlsson, who also looks after her grandchild, said: Working mums should have a lot more support. Things are so expensive, if they want to get married or buy a house, or if they rent, people just rip them off.

“They have to pay an awful lot of money for childcare so they can work.”

The Conservatives have promised to introduce 30 hours of free childcare for working parents with three