Sharp rise in grandparents helping to pay nursery fees
THE number of parents borrowing from grandparents to help meet childcare costs has doubled in the past year.
About 21 per cent of families now rely on money from the older generation to help pay childcare bills, up from 11 per cent last year.
A survey found that the average family received 1,200 a year from grandparents towards nursery fees. Britain has the most expensive childcare costs in Europe, with a nursery place for a child under two costing an average of 134 a week in 2004.
Single parents are most likely to need support, with 29 per cent relying on handouts from their parents to help them meet the cost of nursery fees. Overall 58 per cent of parents with grown-up children said they were still giving them some form of financial help.
The support goes both ways, with 16 per cent of people claiming they are giving financial help to elderly relatives, generally by topping up their income, or helping them to pay utility bills.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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