- A typical family receives 468 hours of free child care per year from grandparents
- 36% who depend on grandparents say they cannot afford more professional child care.
- Zoopla says many families choose to live near grandparents for support
Families say they feel caught in a “parent trap” when it comes to where they live and many need to be close to grandparents for help with childcare, thanks to rising childcare costs.
Half of parents with children under 13 live within five miles of their nearest grandparent, according to a new study from Zoopla, and seven in 10 are within a 30-minute drive.
Full-time nursery places now cost up to £140 a day, the equivalent of £33,700 a year for a child or £2,800 a month.
Paying for childcare in much of the UK could account for more than 50 per cent of annual wages, a study by AJ Bell recently found.
Monika Seredynska, 37, who lives in Chislehurst, south-east London, is dependent on her daughter’s grandparents for childcare.
With childcare costs now higher for some than the average monthly mortgage, according to Zoopla, it appears many adults are relying on their children’s grandparents to reduce costs.
Zoopla says the average family relies on nine hours of childcare from grandparents a week, which equates to 468 hours a year.
Given that parents estimate they spend £9.90 per hour on childcare, including nursery, childcare and summer camps, this equates to £4,633.20 of free childcare per year.
Families feel trapped
Zoopla revealed that the flip side is that more than half of families receiving childcare support from grandparents say they now feel “trapped” when it comes to where they live.
More than a third of parents who rely on grandparents for support say they could not afford to do without it as professional childcare would be too expensive.
Many even have to put aside their aspirations of home ownership to get free childcare support.
More than two in five parents who feel trapped would like to move to a larger home, but prices are not affordable in the area they need to stay in to receive support from grandparents, and a quarter say they would like to move to a different area, but they can do it. It’s not because they need to stay close to their parents.
Half of UK parents with children under 13 live within five miles of their nearest grandparent, and 68 per cent live within a 30-minute drive.
Some are even prevented from accessing housing altogether: almost a third of those receiving grandparent support say they would like to buy something but have to rent to be close to their parents or in-laws. .
While some put their aspirations to move on hold, others make a conscious decision to reach out to their grandparents after having children.
Nearly two in five parents said that since having children, they have grown closer to their grandparents, while 11 percent currently plan to move.
Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla, said: ‘As a parent, I know first-hand how expensive childcare can be and how valuable family support is.
‘As such, many Brits feel trapped when it comes to where they live, and it is vital that grandparents are around to help.
‘This is leaving many in the difficult situation of not being able to afford to buy a place near their parents, forcing them to rent when they would otherwise be able to afford housing. Or just live in an area they don’t really want to live in.’
