“I became ill myself because I was rushing around so much” Research shows that a quarter of grandparents provide up to 15 hours a week, while one in ten are on hand for full-time childcare for their grandchildren DonnaLFerguson reports
In 2010 when my first grandson Winston was born I gave up my job in health care for Lancashire County Council to look after him full time for over a year before he got a place at nursery. Because I wasn’t earning I paid no national insurance during that time.
I have friends that are able to work full time and they want for nothing because of that. They holiday abroad, go on cruises, have a nice car. I haven’t got that financial security. It’s my own fault because I can’t say no when Hayley is struggling. I’ve chosen to make that sacrifice because it upsets me too much to see that.
When I had my first child I was very junior at work, we’d just bought our first house and we hardly had any money so mum stepped in to look after him full time for a year until we could put him in nursery. My mum did that for a year but she did start to struggle because my grandma got poorly at the same time. It all got too much and I was worried about her. I thought it would be better if the youngest went to nursery at that point. I was also worried about her relationship with the kids. It’s not as fun when you’re caring for them full time and you have to be more firm with them, more like a parent.
Lucy Dartford, 39, lives in London with daughter Zuri, five. The single mum relies on her parents for child care ten hours a week and says she wouldn’t be able to continue running her PR company without their help. It feels like the only way I’m able to live in London with this job. There’s no way I could keep the business running without them. To pay for a nanny just wouldn’t be feasible. The cost of child care is extortionate. Mum and dad are like the second parent.
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