What should grandparents get in return for giving their grandkids ‘free’ childcare?

As a doting grandparent who  helps provide more childcare than any other formal service in Australia should you be paid for your services by the government or your own children?

This intriguing question follows a new report into the grey army which each week  looks after 837,000 kids and weighs up the costs and the benefits for all parties.

While most do it for love a third of those in the survey, from the National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre, incurred extras costs such as food, transport and outings.

The report, which you can see in full here (link  http://www.nationalseniors.com.au/be-informed/research/publications/grandparents)  says:

“When making the decision to take on a regular care commitment, the grandparents in the study did not weigh up the financial costs and benefits: most had not even made any attempt to calculate the household outlays associated with their care. Rather, many thought it was a normal part of their grandparent role.”

It might be being normalised but the statistics suggest  half of grandparents want  the government to compensate them for the amount of care they provide. In Australia only three percent get paid.

It’s not so crazy. In South Korea grandparents are not only paid typically about $800 a month for childcare by their grateful children but they are, according to reports, demanding even more.

And recognition can come in different ways. In the UK for example there’s a system of carer credits to the public  age pension for grandparents providing such childcare.

The survey highlighted the direct costs of the caring commitment with 70% altering the days and shifts they worked, 55% reducing their hours and even 18% changing their jobs.

Also one third of respondents reported their childcare duties meant they had to change the timing or expected timing of their retirement.

Of course many reported enjoying looking after their kids’ kids but not after a certain amount of time. 

Interestingly there’s ‘tipping point’ of 13 or more hours a week when it all becomes less enjoyable and the impacts on work and retirement are ramped up.

The conclusion of the survey is that there’s a policy black hole with no recognition of the importance of grandparent childcare to the wellbeing of families, communities and the economy.

It suggests policy reform to help these carers make better choices and mitigate the impact of providing ‘free’ childcare on their incomes, retirement plans and ability to work.