Dear LPG readers,

I found myself talking with a few friends of a certain age recently (we were all well-established, hands on grandparents) and the subject of being paid to babysit your grandchildren came up in the conversation.  I have to admit that I have heard it mentioned on the news from time to time this year but never really paid attention. 

I thought that a mini survey was in order as there were five of us around this particular discussion-table.  We included a married couple of grandparents who do the school run with two primary school children in tow, a grandma whose daughter’s old bedroom often substitutes for her children’s so that she can do some night work, a grandma who has moved in with her son’s family and was happy to do the odd after school childminding shift and a grandma who does the thirty-mile train journey to be there so that her child can leave his children in good hands at least once a month.  

We all got quite excited about the idea of having an officially set rate of pay but I was the one who had heard the story and it turned out that I had got it all wrong.  A couple of the more IT savvy members of our group got their phones out and did a bit of Googling only to find that it is all about how grandparents who are hands on can get Adult Childcare credits which will make a difference to their future state pensions.  Basically all we caregivers who are already over the ‘pension hill’ have missed the boat when it comes to any official financial advantage that we might get from the government.

We agreed that it was a very disappointing set of findings for us grandparents who were also established pensioners, but I think that we all agreed that we would do it in spite of the money.  

When we got to talking about it, we each knew so many grandparents who can only keep up with their younger ones when their limited schedules allow.  If we oldies are not busy enough, finding time for fitting an unhurried chat in with each of them, in addition to all the things that we get involved with and all their pre-school and after-school activities can be nigh on impossible.  

Between the five of us, we discovered that we had grandchildren who were aspiring to become better swimmers, martial artists, thespians, footballers, ballet dancers, musicians, readers and better at core school subjects by either being enrolled in after school or weekend activity groups, and with all that going on, where on earth will they get time to talk with us? 

I think that nearly every grandparent is proud but so many can only tell about the latest achievements of their families’ next generation down but one, having got a quick and very general update from their child, the youngster’s usually all-too busy parents who will have offered you a one-sentence time-restricted telephone report. 

We hands-on grandparents have time to chat to them while they have the tea we have prepared for them or as they take the time to have that after-school snack that bridges the gap between home time and the time that mum or dad gets back from work.  

Having had a bit of a chat about it, perhaps I want to remind all we grandparents who have missed out on this new national insurance supplement, that there is so much more to be gained from making the time to stay in touch with those little ones.  

Between us, we decided that in spite of not getting any financial remuneration for our efforts, we would not be without them around.  The little ones do grow up so fast and these days I know so many adults, and pensioners, who feel that they don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done.

But what we have lost financially, we have made up for in many other ways.  We all agreed that just spending that time with them gives us a younger outlook on life as they keep us up to date with all those things we would have missed if it were not for them.   If it were not for spending time with my little ones, I would never have known what Minecraft is or that I was being complimented when my young grandson informed me that I am a ‘sic’ grandma… 
 

OC, Crofton Park

Just in case you do know some grandparents who qualify, LPG found a little information  and some scientific reasons why regular babysitting is good for the older soul…

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