We welcome the positive findings about daycare because parents need more good-quality childcare. But we question the way the research has been presented to claim that grandparents' care is 'bad' for children.
For many it is a positive choice, the 'next best thing' to caring for the child themselves, because they are leaving their child in the care of someone who knows and loves them.
And it is not all about being 'school ready'. We are preparing children for life, not just for school. How do we place a value on the love and support that grandparents can give?
Where we agree with the research is that more could be done to encourage grandparents to make use of children's centres, playgroups and Sure Start. If they enticed more grandparents through their doors, then the children they care for would have the chance to mix with other children in the way the research suggests.
The real question is why we do not recognise and value grandparents' contribution in the way that we should. Instead, the care they provide is taken for granted and not taken seriously. However, indications are that the 'baby boomers' are less willing to provide the childcare that grandparents have provided in the past. Additionally, today's parents will find that as they approach retirement they are expected to work longer and may also want to care less.
So the grandparent childcare we readily take for granted now may in fact be in short supply in years to come. Perhaps then we will learn to value it.
