The April 13 Edition

Twenty hours a week. That’s the point at which many grandparents begin to feel resentful about looking after their grandkids. Not all grandparents, and not all the time – but enough to show up in research. I found this a fascinating figure in light of the central theme of today’s cover story, which is that Gran and Gramps are the unpaid bedrock of our childcare system. They’re spending their days reading to the babies and toddlers, ferrying the older kids to and from sport, and are on call for date night. Many are paying the school fees, while others are housing three generations under their own roof. Older family members have always helped out, I hear you say. But a combination of factors, from high house prices and childcare costs to the predominance of two worker households, plus the normalisation of mum returning to work once baby hits six or 12 months, means grandparents are contributing more than ever. So much for relaxing into retirement. How resentful are they? Less than you might expect, but perhaps more than many of their own kids might realise. So let’s hear it for the grand army, without whose free labour – and endless, selfless supply of love – many Australian families simply wouldn’t cope. Katrina Strickland, editor