Nana and grandad to the rescue!
Babysitting, school runs, bath times, and cooking evening meals, the nations grandparents are stepping up as hard working parents take on extra hours or additional work.
As many as four in ten grandparents have pledged to take a more active role in their grandchildren’s lives to help.
A study of 2,000 retirees found over half (52 percent) claim there is more pressure on parents now than when they were young. Four in ten (43 percent) have vowed to help because they can’t stand watching their loved ones struggle with the pressures of work, finances, and family life.
Overall, 42 percent of grandparents are helping regularly with the school run, on average five times a month, while 46 percent are hosting their grandchildren for sleepovers at least three times a month.
As many as 39 percent are undertaking weekly trips to the playground, while cooking evening meals for the family (35 percent) and doing the bath and bedtime routine (28 percent) are also falling to grandparents’ remits.
A third (28 percent) are doing the laundry, while the same number are even helping by walking the family dog.
One in five (21 percent) regularly delve into their toolbox to do DIY jobs around their children’s houses.
When it comes to helping financially, 16 percent have helped with their children’s weekly shop, while a tenth (12 percent) will put their hands in their pockets to pay for their children’s household bills and mortgage.
In fact, one in four (26 percent) of grandparents have moved to be nearer to their family.
Retirement developer McCarthy Stone commisioned the research and Managin Director Fiona Carleton said: “With parents facing increasing financial pressures they are leaning on grandparents more than ever, but they don’t always live close enough to be able to help their families as much as they’d like.
“By living somewhere more suited to their needs and because of the help our teams provide – which is everything from building maintenance, to gardening, to additional care and support if needed - our homeowners have more time to spend on the things they enjoy.”
