Children
But they don’t like the way their parents are bringing up their children
Eight in ten (84%) mums and dads need to use their parents for childcare at least once a week, with a third wanting them to move closer to them a survey from FindaProperty.com has revealed.
FindaProperty.com, one of the UK’s leading property portals, surveyed 1,550 parents and parents-to-be to find out how they cope with childcare arrangements and whether they receive support from grandparents.
The survey revealed that parents thought the optimum distance to live from grandparents was 28 miles on average, with almost three quarters (74%) wanting to live within 20 miles of their parents. A third (32%) said they would like to move closer and a further one in three (33%) want their parents to move closer to them.
Despite the fact that many parents are forced to use grandparents for childcare for financial reasons, there are concerns about the generational differences in bringing up their children.
Over a third (35%) of parents said that the main drawback of using grandparents for childcare is that their parents have different
rules/standards for their children. One in five (19%) stated that their parents often find it difficult to accept the way they choose to bring up their children and a further 15% disliked the facts that their parents discipline their children differently to them.
In addition, 14% felt that their parents needing to stay with them overnight to look after their children was a drawback, while 12% worried that their children were getting too attached to the grandparents.
Nigel Lewis, property analyst at FindaProperty.com, comments: "Living close to your parents may not be your first priority when looking for a new home but in reality, when it comes to issues such as childcare, it can actually be a great help and so should be more of a consideration.
"With the uncertainty surrounding the future of childcare vouchers and child tax credits in the political party policies, grandparents could be needed for free childcare even more in future."
Psychologist Donna Dawson adds: "Using your parents to help look after your children can be a ‘sweet-and-sour’ experience: ‘sweet’, because it is people that you know and trust who have a vested interest in looking after them (as well as saving you money); and ‘sour’, because family tensions can arise over how you are bringing them up.
"To avoid fall-outs, ensure that your parents are aware of your values and routines and keep talking to them about what you are trying to achieve. If you have rules about how much TV or computer time your children should indulge in, or what food or treats (or lack of!) they should be given, then do make your parents aware of this. Also, try to concentrate on the positive aspects of the arrangement, and keep your minds open to any suggestions that might be useful - after all, grandparents do have a life-time of experience to draw on!"
Families are more likely to live closer to the maternal grandparents, with 55% admitting they live closest to mum’s parents. It is also ‘her’ parents who are most likely to provide the childcare, with 68% saying the maternal grandparents are the main childcare providers for their children.
To help in your search for a new home, FindaProperty.com has My Distances - a tool which allows house hunters to input the postcodes of places which are important to them, such as their parent’s addresses, and lets them automatically see the distance from all the properties in their search.
Tagged in Parenting