Real life debate: Should grandparents be paid for childcare?

Many parents rely on grandparents to look after their children. But while some do it for free, others chargeé

‘I paid my parents, so I want the same’

Tina Boden, 50, lives in Scarborough, and has two sons, Tom, 26, and Charlie, 19. Her eldest son has a little girl who she looks after once a week.

Ilove looking after my granddaughter, but I run my own business so taking time off to look after her can actually cost me money. It sounds harsh, but I’m sacrificing my earnings to look after my grandchild, why shouldn’t I be paid? I’ve always been a firm believer in paying your family for childcare. I paid my parents when my sons were little. I always made sure to give them an adequate sum (about £50 a day) to cover the cost of looking after them and they accepted it gratefully. Grandparents still have their own lives, things they want to do and see, especially once they retire. What’s more, looking after grandchildren can cut into that free time they now have, so they should be compensated. I really don’t think it’s fair to expect them to do it for free when they may not have much money themselves. Childcare is expensive and parents will be saving money by having grandparents look after their kids. So surely it makes sense to give some of the money that’s saved to them, rather than parents pocketing it themselves. It’s just a common courtesy.

‘You do it because you love them’

Jane Keightley, 60, lives in Boston, Lincolnshire, with her husband Martyn, 61. They have two children, Matthew, 36, and Lucy, 31, and three grandchildren.

To me, being a grandparent is a privilege – one I don’t want paying for. When I found out I was going to be a grandma, I couldn’t wait to spend time with my grandchildren. The fact that any grandparent would want to be paid seems crazy to me and just doesn’t make sense. I worked as a childminder for a year in 1988, and, of course, I was paid. But that’s because I was looking after someone else’s children. I was giving them three meals a day and tending to their every need. It’s different when it’s your own flesh and blood. You want to spend time with them, you want to spoil them and you do it because they’re family and you love them – not because someone has given you a cheque! I often look after my three grandchildren for days at a time, especially in the summer holidays. I have no problem with spending my own money to feed them or take them out as a treat. As far as I’m concerned, you get paid to do a job and looking after my grandchildren certainly isn’t a job – it’s a pleasure.