Media Release

Hands-on grandparents save working parents $2.29 billion a year in childcare

07 May 2018, Sydney, Australia – Grandparents are collectively saving working families $2.29 billion a year in childcare fees, according to finder.com.au, the site that compares virtually everything.

Analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data by finder.com.au, has revealed almost 900,000 Aussie children aged 0-12 are cared for by their grandparents instead of attending formal daycare – saving their parents a small fortune.

According to the research, almost a quarter of kids aged four and under (23%) are looked after by their grandparents instead of attending childcare.

Parents opting for grandparent care just two days a week could be saving $6,344 per child each year. With 361,000 children aged under five in Australia being informally looked after by their grandparents, that’s a total of $2.29 billion per year in daycare alone being saved.

Millions more could be saved through grandparents picking up kids from school, jumping in to stay at home with the kids when they’re sick and even helping out with homework.

A recent finder.com.au study of 2,085 Australians shows 45% of Australians believe grandparents should be paid for babysitting.

Should grandparents be paid for babysitting?

ResponseProportion
Yes, if it’s a regular arrangement29%
Yes, if it’s for a full day/extended period (i.e. school holidays)6%
Yes, regardless of frequency/length of time10%
No, but I look after my parents in other ways (e.g. help, gifts etc)34%
No, they shouldn’t be paid21%

Bessie Hassan, Money Expert at finder.com.au, says a growing number of parents are turning to grandparents because they can’t afford or access traditional childcare.

“For many families, traditional childcare is a significant financial burden,” she says.

A separate study by finder.com.au survey of 2,005 parents with kids aged 0 to 12 found two in five Australian parents (39%) admit daycare fees are the biggest financial stress when it comes to having children.

“The cost of daycare can be a deterrent for parents returning to work - with childminding eating away at a huge chunk of their earnings,” she says.

Ms Hassan said while the financial advantages are obvious - kids could benefit greatly from the love and guidance of a grandparent carer.

“There are some life lessons that only grandparents can teach us and they often have less commitments to juggle so it can be a very special relationship. Hopefully the grandparents get something out of it too,” she says.

The release of this finder.com.au research comes just days after the government released new data revealing the number of children spending 50-plus hours a week in childcare is growing.

According the federal government’s Early Childcare in Summary report, 5.9% of all children in long day care are spending 50 or more hours per week at the centre which is equivalent to 40,241 children.

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Disclaimer

The information in this release is accurate as of the date published, but rates, fees and other product features may have changed. Please see updated product information on finder.com.au's review pages for the current correct values.

About Finder

Every month 2.6 million unique visitors turn to Finder to save money and time, and to make important life choices. We compare virtually everything from credit cards, phone plans, health insurance, travel deals and much more.

Our free service is 100% independently-owned by three Australians: Fred Schebesta, Frank Restuccia and Jeremy Cabral. Since launching in 2006, Finder has helped Aussies find what they need from 1,800+ brands across 100+ categories.

We continue to expand and launch around the globe, and now have offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland and the Philippines. For further information visit www.finder.com.au.

12.6 million average unique monthly audience (June- September 2019), Nielsen Digital Panel

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