Around half of Irish grandparents provide some level of childcare. Many grandparents undertake physically demanding tasks caring for toddlers for extended periods. Older grandparents, including those in their seventies, sometimes care for multiple grandchildren and enable parents to have time away. Observations of grandparents returning from long days with empty buggies highlight the physical toll of full-day childcare on older adults. Reliance on grandparental childcare raises questions about whether that contribution receives sufficient recognition and whether older caregivers' needs and limits are adequately considered. The dynamic can generate feelings of guilt among parents who rely on elderly relatives for support.
Around 50pc of Irish grandparents provide some level of grandchild care, but do we take them for granted?
"That was a long day," I heard the woman say as she sank down into a seat. "It's just so physically demanding when they're that age,"
I didn't eavesdrop any longer, but it was pretty clear that these were grandparents recovering after a day of toddler wrangling and the exchange set my guilt levels instantly into overdrive as the only reason my husband and I were on this little night away was thanks to my 75-year-old mother agreeing to stay home with both our kids.
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