The report claims one in three mothers in the UK rely on grandparents to care for their children. It says the state gives little financial recognition for this caring role, unlike other European countries.
Grandparents should not be taken for granted as cheap childcare, says the report.
The study said many grandparents struggled to juggle work and childcare, without financial support.
It said that a number of EU countries had taken steps to help grandparents. This included measures to allow parents to transfer parental leave to grandparents, letting working grandparents take time off if their grandchild is sick and, in some circumstances, paying them for the care they provided.
Flexible working
The report acknowledged that from April next year, grandparents in the UK would be able to claim National Insurance credits for the care they provided, but it said they did not currently have a right to request flexible working and parental leave could not be transferred to them.
Parents also could not use childcare vouchers, which are taken from their salaries before they pay tax and National Insurance, to pay grandparents, the report said. Research carried out for the report found that seven out of 10 grandparent carers thought they should be paid through tax credits or childcare vouchers for childcare.
Nearly half of all grandparents who looked after their grandchildren said they would opt for flexible working if they were allowed. And 53% of grandparents aged between 45 and 54 thought they should be given time off work when a grandchild is born.
Poorer grandparents were especially likely to feel the strain of helping care for their grandchildren, as they were more likely to become grandparents before they retired, while their own children were also more likely to be single parents and need extensive childcare support.
Read the full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/10264005.stm.
Source and thanks to news.bbc.co.uk.
