Grandparents can save parents $6,344 a year in childcare costs, per childÂ
Almost half of Australian parents believe grandparents should be paid for babysitting.
Almost half of Australian parents believe grandparents should be paid for babysitting.With childcare costs continually increasing, grandparents are saving parents a small fortune. According to research released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and analysed by finder.com.au, grandparents are saving Australian families a whopping $2.29 billion each year in childcare costs.
The data reveals that 900,000 Australian children under the age of 12 are looked after by their grandparents rather than going to daycare. It also revealed that almost one in four kids under the age of four are babysat by their grandparents.
finder.com.au analysed these figures against the ever-increasing costs of childcare to learn just how much Australians could be saving by ditching childcare in favour of nan and pop. For families with just one child, by choosing to have a grandparent care for the child just two days a week instead of formal childcare, they could save $6344 a year. And if they had three children, parents could be looking at an annual saving of almost $20,000.
This huge potential, or realised saving, isn't lost on Australian parents. According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 Australians by finder.com.au, almost half (45%) believe that grandparents should be paid for babysitting. Almost a third (29%) said grandparents should be paid if babysitting is a regular arrangement, and 6% felt they are entitled to be paid if they care for the child for a full day or over the holidays. And one in ten Australians simply believe grandparents should be paid for babysitting regardless of the length of time or how often they do it.
Of those Australians who don't believe grandparents should be paid for childcare, 34% said it's because they look after their parents in other ways, while 21% said a blanket "no" they shouldn't be paid.
However, of course, not all Australians have the option of relying on grandparents to care for their children. Previous research by finder.com.au found that among parents with kids aged under 12, 39% admit daycare fees are the biggest financial stress associated with having children.
But if you are in a position to have your parents look after the kids once in a while, the potential annual saving on your bank balance speaks for itself.
Image: shutterstock
