How Grandparents as Childcare Providers Impacts Parents and Grandparents

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research that hits home

Last week I wrote the first post in a month dedicated to grandparents--celebrating our upcoming vacation week with my parents and my kids' grandparents. Last week I discussed some of the research on how childcare provided by grandparents impacts kids. This week, I want to share some of the research on how this care situation impacts parents and grandparents.

Photo by Dario Valenzuela on Unsplash

Impact on Parents

A study by Posadas and Fernandez found that 20% of mothers in the United States who have children under five use grandparents as their primary source of childcare. While the availability of childcare--mostly performed by grandmothers--did have a moderate effect on women's ability to work, this was more significantly true for minority women or single mothers. Interestingly, the authors theorized that raising retirement age might detrimentally impact women's ability to enter the workforce.

A study in Taiwan found that when grandparents cohabitate with families and provide assistance with domestic tasks and childcare mothers and fathers both report benefit, but interestingly this was more true for women if the support was provided by their own parents.

A Korean study found that, when grandparents cared for children, the relationship between the mother and the grandparent was a significant factor in the well being of both parties. For mothers the extent of social support was also a factor, and for grandmothers the number of children being cared for and their own baseline health were factors.

Photo by Jake Thacker on Unsplash

Impact on Grandparents

A study by Taylor et al looked at hypertension among urban grandparents caring for their children to determine the relationship between hypertension and caregiving responsibilities. While this study did not find a significant relationship between the two factors (age was a more significant predictor of hypertension), they did find a relationship between age, hypertension and the number of hours caring for children. In other words as age and number of caregiving hours increased, so did blood pressure.

While some studies have shown that grandparents who care for children exercise less and suffer worse health, a study by DiGesso found that grandmothers who provided non-intensive care had been health (and generally higher socioeconomic status) that those who either did not provide care or those who provided intensive care.

These findings are echoed in multiple studies, which seem to demonstrate the important role that grandparents play in children's lives--for themselves, for parents and especially for children--but only when childcare provided at less than full-time. Once grandparents become full-time caregivers, they experience the same stressors as parents, with the compounding stresses of older age.

Bottom Line?

The bottom line is that grandparents--typically grandmothers--play an important role in families. For mothers, they can increase the viability of working and reduce additional time spent in domestic tasks. For grandparents, caring for children can be enriching and can have benefits for health. However, two critical factors impact these outcomes: (1) the relationship between the parent and the grandparent must be a good one, or the caregiving situation can create additional stress and (2) grandparents who provide intensive care often suffer worse health outcomes, especially when combined with poor baseline health or lower socioeconomic status.

A few articles also touched on another issue: Grandparents who care for children may assume great responsibility but have little power. This manifests in small decisions--such as when parents prohibit a particular food or activity at grandma's house--but can present in deeply painful ways too, such as when custody issues or relocation don't consider the relationship between the child and the grandparent. In situations like these, grandparents run the risk of being taken advantage of and suffering deep pain at losing contact with their grandchildren, and this is something parents should remain mindful of.

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