Variations in Child Care by Grandparents During the First Three Years

Abstract

Routine child care by grandparents was examined for 1,229 children who were participants in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. Four groups were identified: extended full‐time care, extended part‐time care, sporadic care, and no routine care during the first three years. The odds of sporadic child care by grandparents were higher when mothers were relatively young and worked nonstandard hours. The odds of extended full‐time grandparent care versus extended part‐time grandparent care were higher for mothers of color and mothers with more extensive full‐time employment. All types of grandparent care were more likely when a grandparent lived in the household. These findings suggest that grandparent care is heterogeneous and may occur in response to different family circumstances.

Grandparenting and Childbearing in the Extended Family

“…One key part of time transfers is in the form of childcare. The US literature is rather extensive (e.g., Bass and Caro, 1996;Baydar and Brooks-Gunn, 1998;Fuller-Thomson and Minkler, 2001;Hayslip and Kaminski, 2005;Pebley and Rudkin, 1999;Vandell et al, 2003;Silverstein et al, 2003); the European literature, in contrast, is more limited. A common pattern in all of this literature is that grandparenting is driven by needs, which in turn is motivated by a range of factors including family structure (Douglas and Ferguson, 2003) or financial difficulties (i.e., formal childcare cannot be afforded).…”

“…A common pattern in all of this literature is that grandparenting is driven by needs, which in turn is motivated by a range of factors including family structure (Douglas and Ferguson, 2003) or financial difficulties (i.e., formal childcare cannot be afforded). Working and younger mothers are more likely to use grand childcare (e.g., Vandell et al, 2003), and Gray (2005) finds that grand childcare is concentrated amongst women without higher education, indicating that informal care is of greatest importance to lower income households. At the same time, the characteristics of the grandparents matter.…”

Grandparenting and mothers’ labour force participation: A comparative analysis using the Generations and Gender Survey

“…The provision of childcare along intergenerational lines has received a good deal of attention in the US (see, for example, Pebley and Rudkin 1999;Fuller-Thomson and Minkler 2001;Hayslip and Kaminski 2005;Vandell et al 2003) but considerably less in Europe, where comparative analyses are limited, partly due to lack of suitable data. However, Europe represents an interesting case study for intergenerational relationships, especially since European countries differ in welfare provision, demographic and economic behaviours, and family culture.…”

Elderly vaccination—The glass is half full

“…With the changing demography of society, "grandparent care" of infants and young children is becoming common. Over 29% of working mothers have a grandparent provide childcare for children <5 years of age; and 35.2% (432/1229) of children aged 0 -3 years receive the grandparent care, thus increasing the risk of the infectious disease transmission between the very young and the old [11,12].…”