Grandparents subsidise family holidays

A significant proportion of family holidays are paid for by grandparents, according to research from a leading insurer.

Grandparents are increasingly paying for family breaks, according to new research by Gnu Insurance.
The insurer polled 1,000 over-50s and found that 43 per cent of people in this age group have paid for their children and grandchildren to go on holiday at some point.
Nearly one in four grandparents said they paid for a family holiday every year, while 56 per cent dip into their savings once every two years.
The survey suggests that grandparents will collectively spend more than £2 billion on family breaks this year, accounting for nearly one-tenth of the nation's outlay on holidays.
Paul Thilo, general manager at Gnu Insurance, remarked: "The over-50s have more spending power than ever before when it comes to holidays.
"Not only are retirees making the most of their freedom by travelling more, they are also responsible for funding a lot of family holidays, for all generations."
However, grandparents may become less generous with their savings in future, as figures show that older age groups are currently suffering the highest rates of inflation.

The problems of grandparent carers

200,000 family and friends carers, raising around 300,000 children in the UK, who would cost an estimated £12 billion each year if they were in the care system, are largely unrecognised by local and national government – and are set to be hit hard by welfare reform and spending cuts, according to a new report from charity Grandparents Plus.

Campaigners are concerned that the cuts will undermine grandparents’ ability to care resulting in more children ending up in the care system, at great cost to the tax payer.

‘What if we said no?’ is based on a new survey of over 250 family and friends carers, most of whom are grandparents, launched on 28 October) as part of a national lobby day where over 200 grandparent carers and their grandchildren from across the country head to Westminster to call for greater recognition and respect for the ‘forgotten army’ of carers. 

The survey reveals the challenges facing grandparent carers, including:

• Two thirds have a household income of under £300 a week
• 7% don’t receive any kind of benefit or allowance for looking after a child – not even child benefit
• 4 out of 10 (41%) are raising a child alone
• Over half (57%) gave up work or reduced their hours to take on care of a child. 
• 88% of the carers are under 65, half of them are under 55.
• 6 out of 10 have a chronic health condition or a disability

The report shows that children living in family and friends care are a particularly vulnerable group, having experienced parental alcohol or drug misuse, abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or the long-term illness of a parent.  Grandparents Plus has also found that 4 out of 10 of these children have difficulties at schools such as making friends and some experience bullying.

Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus said:
“We share the Government’s vision for the Big Society.  And grandparents are at the forefront of it because society is built on the family.  But here are grandparents doing the right thing, picking up the pieces in times of crisis and all too often they take a financial hit and their health suffers as a result.”
“Our research shows that before they take on this caring role they are like any other grandparents.  But then a family crisis means they have to step in. It could happen to anyone.”
Campaigners are concerned that the cuts will undermine grandparents’ ability to care resulting in more children ending up in the care system, at great cost to the tax payer.

‘What if we said no?’ is based on a new survey of over 250 family and friends carers, most of whom are grandparents, launches today, (Thursday 28 October) as part of a national lobby day where over 200 grandparent carers and their grandchildren from across the country head to Westminster to call for greater recognition and respect for the ‘forgotten army’ of carers.  A separate event organised by The Poverty and Truth Commission is also taking place at the Scottish Parliament.

The survey reveals the challenges facing grandparent carers, including:

• Two thirds have a household income of under £300 a week
• 7% don’t receive any kind of benefit or allowance for looking after a child – not even child benefit
• 4 out of 10 (41%) are raising a child alone
• Over half (57%) gave up work or reduced their hours to take on care of a child. 
• 88% of the carers are under 65, half of them are under 55.
• 6 out of 10 have a chronic health condition or a disability

The report shows that children living in family and friends care are a particularly vulnerable group, having experienced parental alcohol or drug misuse, abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or the long-term illness of a parent.  Grandparents Plus has also found that 4 out of 10 of these children have difficulties at schools such as making friends and some experience bullying.

Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of Grandparents Plus said:
“We share the Government’s vision for the Big Society.  And grandparents are at the forefront of it because society is built on the family.  But here are grandparents doing the right thing, picking up the pieces in times of crisis and all too often they take a financial hit and their health suffers as a result.”
“Our research shows that before they take on this caring role they are like any other grandparents.  But then a family crisis means they have to step in. It could happen to anyone.”

Campaigners fear that the combined impact of welfare reform and cuts to local authority children’s services will hit grandparent carers particularly hard.  1 in 3 receive an allowance from their local authority but as this support is discretionary it is particularly vulnerable to spending cuts.  Cuts will also mean the loss of key support for the carers and the children they care for.
Campaigners are making a number of calls, including:

• Recognition for the vital role they play in looking after vulnerable children and keeping them out of the care system. As a minimum they deserve to be counted - we need official data on the number of families in this situation

• Protection from the impact of welfare reform and cuts to local authority children's services, which may hit family and friends carers and the children they are looking after (i.e. those who are outside the care system) particularly hard. 

Sam Smethers added:
“Making these families poorer will push some to breaking point and could result in more children going into the care system.  It could also discourage potential family and friends carers from coming forward to care. This would be neither good for children nor cost-effective.  We know this Government values the role of grandparents in family life and also wants to tackle the crisis in our care system, not add to it, so we urge ministers to consider ways in which they can protect these families from the adverse impact of benefit changes and spending cuts.”

Lynn Chesterman, Chief Executive of the Grandparents Association who are partners in the lobby day, said:
“There is no question that family and friends carers play a vital role in looking after vulnerable children and keeping them out of the care system.  But we are seriously concerned that because this group remains largely invisible, they will be overlooked when decisions about welfare reform and spending cuts are made.  This could lead to grandparents carers being unintentionally disadvantaged in what is already a very difficult economic climate for them.”

Jim Newell, a grandparent carer from Canterbury will be travelling to London for the lobby day.  He said:
 “My wife and I are the sole carers for our three grandchildren and when they initially came to live with us four years ago, I continued to work full-time.  Eventually I had to give up my job; it was far too stressful working and taking care of the children who were all under 3 at the time.
“I believe more needs to be done to recognise the important role grandparents play in caring for their children.  As it currently stands, we get little financial support and already live on a shoestring.  It is frightening to think what the implications of the spending cuts and welfare reforms might be.  I’m sure it’ll hit many grandparent carer families hard.”

The survey also reveals that:

• Almost half (48%) of family and friends carers are looking after a child with special needs or a disability

• 3 out of 10 (30%) are also caring for an elderly or disabled partner, relative or friend.

• 4 out of 10 have looked after the child/children for more than 5 years.

Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group, a national charity that provides advice to family and friends carers said:
“These carers are doing exactly what the government wants to encourage in the Big Society, namely stepping forward and putting the needs of vulnerable children above their own.   However, the impact of the proposed benefit changes and spending cuts will be to drive many into greater poverty and spiralling debt, with placements breaking down and children entering care after all.  There are specific things that Government could to do prevent this tragedy such as exempting family and friends carers from the proposed total cap on welfare benefits, as is proposed for families caring for disabled children.”

Grandparent carers

From April 2011, working age grandparents who provide care for a child will be able to get their National Insurance contribution credited to help build up their basic state pension. For more information contact Grandparents Plus, a national charity, telephone 020 8981 8001, http://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk

Learning with Grannie

I have just been given some information on an interesting experiment in intergenerational learning. Have a look at a site set up in Wales to promote English teaching by using grandmas. Not quite sure why grandads do not seem to have a role in this!  However, a fascinating venture which the founder tells me is being broadened out into a national initiative to involve grandparents in learning. Traditionally this has always been a role for grandmas and with the huge amount of time now being spent by grandparents in looking after younger children to enable their parents to do paid work this would seem to offer a unique opportunity. Learn with Grandmas is the name of the new non profit company set up to promote this. 

Valerie Wood-Gaiger MBE is the founder of this new initiative and if you want to find out more you can contact her at Valwoodgaiger@aol.com.

As a Grandad I would still hope that there just might be a role for us too!

Grandparents save families £860 in childcare

A new study by RIAS has found that 6.1 million older Britons look after their grandchildren regularly for nothing, devoting an average of five hours a week to helping out their hard-working children. This saves families, typically, around £860 a year which adds up to £5.2 billion across the whole country.

Many grandparents will step in to pick up children on the school run or give them lifts to out of school activities. When the youngsters are ill and parents find it hard to take time off work, the older generation steps in to help.

The recession has seen grandparents come to the rescue more often and in different ways, including chipping in financially to pay their children's bills and other costs. A third of grandparents (33 per cent) say they regularly contribute financially, even putting up money towards family holidays and other costly items where they can afford to help.

Combining their free childcare services plus irregular loans can add up to an outlay of £25,000 for one grandchild from birth to their 18th birthday, the report calculated.

Promoting intergenerational volunteering

Twelve projects across England have been awarded grants as part of a £5.5 million cross-Government scheme to promote intergenerational volunteering and encourage meaningful interaction between young and old generations.

The ‘Generations Together’ campaign, aims to break down barriers between young people and older people and help them engage with each other on equal terms through mutually beneficial voluntary projects. The projects will bring together young people and other members of the community to build trust and understanding, develop community solutions to issues which concern both groups, promote health and wellbeing and resolve tensions by helping to address negative perceptions of young and older people alike. The UK population now has more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 16. As England’s social demographic changes, it is increasingly important that young and older people are encouraged to interact, and spend more time learning from each other’s experiences and skills. Funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions, the scheme which is also supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government invited bids from all English local authorities involving third sector organisations. The 12 winning bids will establish volunteer projects which build positive connections across local communities between young and old people. Successful initiatives range from plans to use Portsmouth’s nautical and maritime heritage to bring together older and young people in a series of programmes and events to programmes addressing widening gaps in tolerance between young and older people in Wakefield. The winning 12 projects are:

Ealing (London)
Gateshead (North East)
Hammersmith and Fulham (London)
Luton (East of England)
Northamptonshire (East Midlands)
Manchester (North West)
Plymouth (South West)
Portsmouth (South East)
Reading (South East)
Somerset (South West)
Wakefield (Yorkshire and Humber)
Worcestershire (West Midlands)
Iin many countries traditionally there have been strong links between the oldest and youngest generations. Grandparents are playing a key role in upbringing again as we have frequently reported so it is good to see initiatives like this.

Why is this not a surprise?

Despite the challenging economic conditions, some 1.8 million grandparents are regularly putting money aside for their grandchildren. In fact, a fifth of grandparents are saving £400 a year or more, which could provide their grandchildren with a nest egg of up to £10,000 when they turn 18, according to Saga. A further one in ten are saving additional funds for their adult children to help them through these challenging times, despite the fact that many of them are retired or live on limited means themselves. The research also shows that seven in ten have provided financial help to their family over the course of the last five years, as well as putting money aside for them. Proving that the bank of mum and dad stays open well after their kids have left home, almost half of over 50s admit to having helped out their adult children with money when they have fallen on hard times. Furthermore, 15 per cent of grandparents have helped fund luxuries for their grandchildren, contributing to the cost of treats such as a computer or a family holiday.

I'm too old to do that!

Do you get as fed up as we do in continually running into people who say this? Sometimes they are only 50. It is tragic seeing people limit themselves because they have bought into stereotyping from a different age. We need to question people who say this at any opportunity and also look for real life examples of people who clearly go counter to this restriction. As we come across them we will report them here and ask you to send us details of anyone you know who would never say this and instead does something remarkable. Like Margaret Jones, of Malmesbury, a 90-year-old former midwife from Wiltshire who had to step in to deliver her great-granddaughter because the duty midwife was not able to arrive in time. She had ceased to be a midwife 50 years ago.

Interviewed afterwards she said : "I did not think I would get down because I have two artificial hips. When I got home after, I had a strong cup of tea and put some whisky in it."

Her grandaughter commented, "My mum first called my gran just to have a look while I was waiting for the hospital midwife."

Mrs Jones ended up delivering 7lb 7oz Carys 20 minutes before the midwife arrived.

"I am close with my gran," said her grandaughter. "It felt incredible to have her there, she is magical."

I'm too old to do that...............

Raising grandchildren in a recession

A fascinating article today in the Wall Street Journal, “‘Grandfamilies’ Come Under Pressure” discusses the recession poses unique problems for people raising their grandchildren.

Some six million kids, representing about 8 percent of American children, live with their grandparents, according to the U.S. Census bureau.

"Today, more and more children are being raised by their grandparents. These grandparents provide a crucial safety net, allowing children whose parents can’t provide for them to remain in families, instead of winding up as wards of the state. But as the recession hits “grandfamilies,” that safety net is under stress. The unemployment rate for older workers is lower than the overall rate. But once they become unemployed, older workers find it harder to land a job and they tend to remain out of work longer than younger workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate for those 55 and over has been climbing significantly in recent months; in March, it rose to 6.2 percent — the highest it has been since September, 1949, according the bureau….

Many older workers who lose their jobs drop out of the work force, believing their efforts are hopeless. The number of people 55 and older classified by the federal government as “discouraged” — meaning they’ve given up looking for work because they don’t think there are any jobs for them — nearly tripled from December 2007 to December 2008, to 154,000 from 53,000, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute."

The medical literature is mixed on the health effects of raising grandchildren. Some studies show that raising your grandchildren takes a toll on your health. Not only is the job physically tiring, but grandparents who are raising young children often suffer from less sleep and exposure to childhood colds and have less time to take care of themselves. At the same time, some grandparents enjoy raising their grandchildren and believe it makes them more active and connected.

We have posted before on the huge contribution that grandparents make to their families and to our economy in the UK and this is often not given appropriate recognition and can even have negative tax and pension implications for this caring group.

Grandmas don't know everything...

Following on from our previous post Mike and I decided that we don't have enough humour in this blog. In fact you don't find much humour in most blogs. My American friends in particular think that this is because of political correctness and a terror of litigious actions.
Well - to hell with that! At our ages we should be able to enjoy some humour so from time to time will share items with you that amused us. Here is one that arrived today.....

Little Tony was 9 years old and was staying with his grandmother for a few days.

He'd been playing outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the house and asked her,

'Grandma, what's that called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?'

She was a little taken aback, but she decided to tell him the truth. 'It's called sexual intercourse , darling.'

Little Tony said, 'Oh, OK,' and went back outside to play with the other kids.

A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily,

'Grandma, it isn't called sexual intercourse . It's called Bunk Beds.....

.....And Jimmy's mum wants to talk to you.'

Grandma puts pension at risk when she stays at home to care for grandkids

The Daily Mail has launched a campaign to highlight the fact that although there are fairer pensions for stay-at-home mums, grandparents who are increasingly playing a major caring role in the family are at risk of being disadvantaged with their pensions. They point out that more than half a million families rely on grandparents to help care for their young children. But in fulfilling this vital family role, which is allowing mums and dads to earn a living, the grandparents are throwing away their chances of a decent state pension.

With the average age of becoming a grandparent just 51 or 52, this means grandmothers are jeopardising their pension prospects.

Unlike registered childminders, they don't qualify under the child-care tax system. Even if the child were looked after by a neighbour, the taxpayer would foot 80 per cent of the childcare costs to a weekly maximum of £175 for one child. The 55-year-old grandmother would not get a penny.

And while from 2010 women who care for older relatives will get an NI credit after 20 hours a week caring - as well as a carer's allowance and a full NI stamp at 35 hours - grandparents are again overlooked.

To qualify for a full state pension of £90.70 a week, women have to build up 39 years of national insurance contributions. This is being reduced to 30 for those retiring after April 6, 2010.

But while stay-at-home mums receive Home Responsibilities Protection to help to replace these missing NI contributions, grandmothers who give up work receive no help from the Government.

Samantha Smethers from Grandparents Plus adds: 'So many grandparents give up work to care for their grandchildren, yet they are being taken for granted.

'Many mothers prefer their children to be looked after by a close family relative rather than entrusting the care of their child to a complete stranger.

'More than 90 per cent of stay-at-home grandmothers do it for nothing. The least we can do for them if they do give up work to care for their grandchildren is to ensure that they don't miss out on the chance to secure that full basic state pension in retirement.'

The Government says that grandparents will benefit from the new rules allowing them to buy back extra years of missing NI contributions.

But Baroness Hollis says most grandparents will find this impossible if they are not earning: 'Stay at-home grandparents give the best possible care and love for the child. Giving them more financial help would strengthen family bonds and might mean a greater willingness 20 years down the line for the granny, in turn, to be cared for by her family.'

This seems to us a campaign that needs supporting.

Grandparent of the year - but be quick

This is the time to drop some hints in the right direction! Age Concern has been running the Grandparent of the Year competition for 18 years. The award is run in association with Specsavers and recognises the valuable contribution grandparents make to society and to the economy. One in four families rely on grandparents to look after children each week and this childcare, provided for free, is worth £3.8million to the UK economy. Grandparents are often mentors in family life, helping to build understanding between generations.

Anyone over the age of 6 can nominate on-line at www.ageconcern.org.uk/grandparents or by sending a written nomination to Age Concern England. Nomination forms are also available in local Specsavers Stores, the location of the nearest Specsavers store can be found at www.specsavers.co.uk .

Age Concern & Specsavers will select thirteen regional winners from around the UK. From these five will be chosen to progress to the next stage as National Finalists. The finalists will be invited to London, along with their nominating grandchild, on an all expenses paid trip to take part in the awards ceremony and visit some of the capital’s top attractions. The announcement of the winner of the Grandparent of the Year 2009 will be at a reception at the House of Commons hosted by GMTV presenter, Fiona Phillips.

The Prize
The Grandparent of the Year 2009 will receive £3,000 cash to spend as they wish plus £2,000 in hearing vouchers and £750 in eyecare vouchers, courtesy of Specsavers.

Timing

Sunday 5th October – launch date
Sunday 30th November – competition close
January 2009 – Regional Winners announced
February 2009 – National Finalists announced
Wednesday 25th March 2009 – Winner announced

The Joys of Being a Grandparent - I think?

In our book we talk a lot about the grandparent role and the statistics are quite enlightening:

• in the UK 90% of people over 65 are grandparents
• 25% of children are regularly looked after by grandparents
  
• 60% of childcare other than by parents is done by grandparents saving £4 billion a year assuming minimum wage payments
• 44% spend 16 hours a month providing childcare
• 92% of them get no payment

But we do it because we love them don't we! And we don't feel exploited do we? Just how much time should parents expect grandparents to give? Should parents pay for some of this help? If they were members of slivers of time then they certainly would get paid. Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall's book, The Good Granny Companion, tackles a number of these issues in a simple, forthright and commonsensical way. Don't take your grandparent role for granted and don't let your children take you for granted. Any views out there?