Nurseries 'best for child's social skills'

Published on Monday 9 February 2009 21:22

CHILDREN looked after by their grandparents while their parents are at work might be better off in nurseries or creches, according to a study published today.

Babies left with their grandparents are more likely than others to have behavioural problems, although they often develop their vocabularies better, research carried out by the University of London showed.

Researcher Kirstine Hansen said the findings did not reflect badly on grandparents, who, according to the study, provide childcare for 35 per cent of parents who return to work when their children are aged between nine months and three.

"At this young age the majority of care is being done by grandparents," she said.

"In the past grandparents have had a bad press but this study shows that in terms of cognitive skills and vocabulary children cared for by grandparents do best.

"However children in formal care are more ready for school. They do better in readiness for school tests than children in any other type of care, including those with childminders or nannies.

"What was surprising was the finding that children who are cared for by grandparents are more likely to have behavioural problems."

Dr Hansen said she hoped the research would help provide parents and grandparents with the support they needed.

She said: "We need to learn from this and see what we can do to improve things across the board for everybody."

Dr Hansen said she hoped the study would help influence childcare strategies.

"It is a pat on the back for the government, which has tried to encourage people to use formal childcare, even if they come from disadvantaged social groups," she said.

The study involved 4,800 members of the Millennium Cohort, a large sample of children who are being studied to learn more about their emotional and educational development.

The findings are published today in the Journal of Social Policy.

Judith Gillespie, development manager of the Scottish Parent Teachers Association, said: "Grandparents are likely to be more cautious. As people get older they are not so likely to go down a water chute or go on an adventure playground.

"It is true that people in their sixties don't have the oomph to run around doing exciting things."

But she said there was a danger of paying too much attention to surveys that looked at only one part of a much bigger picture.

"Unless you know the nature of the care given by the grandparents in each case, it is very hard to make a generalisation and there is a danger in using this kind of study as a basis for policy," she said.

"I think the most important thing for young children is to learn to mix with other children. A child who is very isolated will find it difficult to learn to share, to stick up for themselves and to take turns."

Sue Robertson, director of One Parent Families Scotland, said using grandparents as a source of childcare was the most attractive option for many families for financial reasons.

"A lot of families will struggle to pay for nurseries and other forms of childcare," she said.

"Parents should have the maximum choice possible and should be supported in that."

No age limit to parental role-models

WHEN Jimmy Deuchars' daughter, Susan, died of breast cancer at the age of 25, he and his wife Margaret took over much of the care of her daughters, two-year-old Joanne and newborn Nicola.

For the next three years, Mr and Mrs Deuchars, of Mosspark, Glasgow, who were 49 when their daughter died, looked after the girls in their home, trying to give them all the care their daughter would have.

Mr Deuchars said: "They never missed out. Margaret took them to all the baby groups and everything."

When their son-in-law remarried they feared losing touch with the girls – and their battle led to the creation of Grandparents Apart, which helps grandparents stay in touch with their grandchildren.

Today, Joanne and Nicola are 15 and 17 and Mr Deuchars is in no doubt about the role he and his wife played in their upbringing: "I think grandparents are in a perfect position to offer stability and love in children's lives."