In an ordinary week, Sue Packer would be able to see and help care for each of her grandchildren.
But the arrival of Covid cases in the ACT has put those care arrangements on hold due to the lockdown restrictions, leaving both grandparent and grandchildren at a loss.
"It's distressing for me, and while you're not as important as their parents, you're an important stability in [grandchildren's] lives," Dr Packer said.
"It's also very hard for the grandchildren as well. They had a consistent pattern in their lives and now they can't do those things any more at the moment."
The Lyons resident and former senior Australian of the year has five grandchildren, all under the age of five. She said while she was also providing care, the regular visits also played a critical role in the child's development in their early years.
"The looking after wasn't as important as the pattern and connection of the next circle after the immediate circle of parents, and that's now no longer available," Dr Packer said.
"Sometimes the care for the grandchildren is while their parents are working, but one of the things I have noticed is the grandchildren used to be able to play with their cousins who are around the same age and they're missing each other hugely."
The ACT's lockdown has prompted parents, who normally rely on grandparents to look after children during the day, to find alternative arrangements, such as juggling work and childcare.
The most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 26 per cent of children who did not attend school and 19 per cent of school-aged children received some form of care from their grandparent in a standard week.
In the ACT, while lockdown has led to most carers not being able to look after children, there are some exceptions to the rules.
Under the territory government's restrictions, people who live alone can identify one other household they can visit or receive visits from as part of a bubble.
Parents who need to leave the home for essential reasons and who need childcare are also allowed to leave children with family. However, children can be cared for by one identified household only.
While the lockdown has forced a change in care arrangements for some in the short term, early childhood experts have said the restrictions caused by the pandemic could lead to broader long-term impacts.
Early childhood lecturer at the Australian Catholic University Laurien Beane said changes in the regular routine caused stress and anxiety in young children.
"If children are regularly cared for by their grandparents and they have been unable to see them during the lockdown, it may impact their attachment with the grandparents and can influence the way they perceive and develop, particularly with brain development," Ms Beane said.
"If adults are in an environment where they are pressured to work at home and to also try and provide care for young children outside of the regular routine, this can cause stress and anxiety, which also affects the way children respond to stress."
Clinical psychologist at the University of Canberra Dr Vivienne Lewis said while the children were also affected by the halt of regular care arrangements, grandparents were also impacted as well.
"It can be very isolating, and for a lot of grandparents who are caring for their grandchildren, they might be retired and used to caring for children and seeing children regularly, and it makes them feel valued and loved," Dr Lewis said.
"For grandparents, it can be a highlight of their week to be able to see the grandchildren, and not knowing when lockdown will finish can make people feel hopeless."
Director of Grandparents Australia Anne McLeish said the normal care arrangements between grandparents and grandchildren provided a major source of wellbeing for both groups, which lockdowns had put a stop to.
"Their care is not just on social occasions, but also assisting many parents who work, and there are many grandparents who would be missing their grandchildren," she said.
"However, those visits are still too risky right now."
