Rocketing childcare costs and a means grandparents will foot the bill this summer - with more than 5million lined up to look after the kids over July and August.
It means parents are set to save hundreds on alternative care - which, on average, will cost working families £138 a week per child.
In fact, a report by Lloyds Bank found grandparents are already spending eight hours a week looking after their grandkids - equivalent to £3,200 worth of free childcare, on the current average hourly rate of £8.
However, families are being warned to make sure older relatives fill in the right documents to ensure they get paid for their time out.
Grandparents' credit
In the UK, thousands of generous grandparents are missing out on as much as £250 a year because they're looking after the kids.
That's because to qualify for the new state pension, you need to have accumulated 35 years of National Insurance Contributions (NICs) by the time you retire. That's 35 credits - equivalent to one for for each year you worked.
However, giving up employment early could mean many people don't reach this necessary amount.
Instead, if you're looking after a child below the age of 12, you can apply for 'childcare credits' to top you up.
Essentially, the system lets parents transfer their National Insurance credit from them, to someone else who's looking after their children.
Royal London - who carried out a report into lost credits earlier this year - estimates a million grandparents are missing out on it - worth £250 - and it will almost certainly cost them.
It's not just elderly family that could claim. It's essentially classed as 'adults' credit' and you can find out who qualifies for it, here. There's no minimum requirement for hours spent caring, which means anyone can apply.
You can make a claim online - don't forget you can also backdate it to 2011.
You won't be able to claim if you have already qualified for National Insurance for this year (ie if you have been in employment or claim another form of NI credits).
If you have any issues with the applications process, you can call the National Insurance helpline on 0300 200 3500.
Who can claim it?
Grandparents Credit was first introduced in 2011, to claim it you must be:
A parent or family member
Aged below state pension age at the time of caring for the child (67)
The child must be aged 12 or under
The parent must be in employment and the grandparent must have left employment to care for the child.
