Saved by the Grandparents....

Proud grandparents helping us out on holiday...

I went into our local town this afternoon to go to the bank, and as I was walking around (without children for once) it really struck me how many pushchairs and young children there were around. The thing that also struck me, all of a sudden, was that these children were not being pushed by their parents, but actually by their grandparents, some of them quite elderly.

We've been very lucky that my parents moved nearby to help us out with childcare, as things are, they have my boys for two days each week then the other two days I do the school drop off for my older son whilst my younger son goes to a local nursery. For two days a week it costs us £314 which is doable, but I really wouldn't like to be paying out for four days a week. As I work long days in the week, I have Fridays off which I enjoy spending with my youngest son who has just turned two.  I feel really restricted by picking up and dropping off at school, the mornings are the only time we can really do anything so we always go for a play at the local children's centre. By the time we've had lunch it's time for his afternoon sleep and I usually pick up my emails and do some admin. We are lucky enough to have a cleaner now so we no longer have to argue about the house being a mess.

Son 2 usually wakes then about two and it's not really worth going out anywhere as I have to be back for three to pick Son 1 up, so it always seems like we are treading water a bit. But anyway, back to the grandparents; we are lucky in what we have but I've started to notice more and more that it's not unusual. People seem to be relying more and more on relatives rather than childminders and nurseries. Is it a cost thing? Or a trust thing? Or both? It does feel good knowing that my child is being cared for by someone that loves him. So do you think it's just expected now that Grandparents will help out? Should we pay them? Or do you think with the cost of childcare these days then they should offer to help?

Like I said I've seen some really elderly Grandparents grappling with an active two year old, amusing for a few seconds then the empathy sets in, how on earth do they manage?!