The Key Role of Grandparents in Providing Childcare in Today´s Society

Grandparents are commonly perceived by grandchildren to be the person they spend school holidays with, or for festive celebrations such as Christmas. Grandparents are also known to be the family traditions preserver. They assume the responsibility to pass down knowledge and tales of family traditions and history to their grandchildren. Where family homes consist of three generations, grandchildren perceived grandfathers as a mentor or fellow companion while their fathers go out to work and grandmothers as the person who runs the house along with the mothers. In such relationship, the grandparents naturally instil a sense of belonging and identity in the grandchildren (Timonen et al., 2009, p. 134).

Within the past few decades, modern family life became more demanding for parents. As a result grandparents are noticed to have undertaken a much more significant and challenging role to support their family. The role of grandparents to take care of their grandchildren is often expected due to family traditions and even culture (The Changing Role of Grandparents, 2010). However, statistics have shown a startling increase in the number of grandparents undertaking the key role of providing childcare help to support their family (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 cited in Ochiltree, 2006, p. 3; Grandparents Plus, 2013, p. 2; Glaser et al., 2013, pp. 8-9).

This paper attempts to explore the key role of grandparents in providing childcare and how the role became significantly important in today’s society. I shall first explain the scope of grandparental childcare and the elements of the modern family relevant to this discussion. Subsequently I shall explore how the elements of the modern family are connected and linked to the impor...

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... for grandchildren are bound to affect grandparents physically, emotionally and even emotionally. Fortunately, the UK government is noticing the roles played by grandparents in the society and acknowledge the importance of their contribution. Although offers and initiatives are made to support grandparents by proposing rewards for their contributions, the government is also recommended to look into the issues behind childcare, as it is a major factor pushing parents to continue relying on grandparents for childcare. Childcare should be made accessible and affordable to all parents and be prioritized as a critical social welfare issue. With consistent support from the government in dealing with the expenses of childcare and rewarding grandparents for their help, parents and grandparents will be able to focus and perform their roles better both at work and at home.