The Granny Economy: Home | Regional Statistics | News Release
Until recently, Supergran was only a character from a children's TV series. But it seems the line between fact and fiction is blurring as grandparents across the UK come to the rescue of struggling parents, by taking on the role of childminder. Formal childcare in many families is becoming more costly, leading more and more parents to turn to grandma and granddad to look after the kids - saving them £6.8 billion a year1.
The research for our latest PR campaign has shown that 64% of working families rely on grandparents' goodwill to childmind, saving them on average £2,685 each year or a third of the typical annual nursery costs2. Our research shows that without grandparents coming to the rescue, nearly half (49%) of working parents would be forced to live on a tighter budget, causing families to make sacrifices, such as forfeiting holidays and day trips.
Parents also believe that good old fashioned values are being passed on by childminding grannies, including gaining a sense of family identity (79%), learning to respect their elders (47%) and appreciating the value of money (13%).
But while the goodwill of grandparents can help control childcare costs, there are other areas where expenses are hard to avoid, such as paying for a child's extra curricular activities or, in the longer-term, further education. It's therefore critical that parents plan for their family's future and make their money work for them, for example, by finding the best savings or mortgage rates, so that the pressure is relieved as much as possible, for both them and the grandparents.
If you would like more information on Skipton's wide range of mortgages and savings accounts then pop into your local branch or call us on 08457 171777*.
1There are 7.4 million families sharing 13.08 million dependent children, which is 1.77 children per family (Source: The Labour Force Survey Spring 2004 ). Of these, the Office of National Statistics states that 6,987,973 are children under 10 years old, which corresponds to 3,953,440 families. 64% rely on grandparents for childminding, saving on average £2,685 each year (3953440 x 0.64 x £2,685 = £6.8bn).
2Source: Daycare Trust 2007 – £7,904 average cost of nursery.
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