Families forced to rely on grandparents for childcare

GRANDPARENTS are increasingly being relied on to act as babysitters because of the cost of childcare and families having to pare back household budgets.

A study tracking the progress of 11,000 nine- month-old children found 38% of infants were in some form of childcare with grandparents the most frequent carers followed by creche or daycare centres.

Parents are paying on average €130 per week for childcare with almost one-in-five saying their choice of service was determined by price.

The report found infants spent an average of 25 hours per week in childcare at an average of €5.14 per hour.

More than 30% of mothers said difficulties in arranging childcare had prevented them from engaging in social activities, with more than one-in-four stating that such difficulties had restricted the hours they could work or study.

Other key findings show the traditional makeup of the Irish family remains the norm. These include:

- 86% of nine-month-olds involved in the study live in two-parent families.

- 14% live in lone-parent families.

- More than 70% of the mothers of nine-month-olds were married.

- 15% lived with a partner.

- 57% of babies were breastfed at some stage, with Irish-born mothers much less likely to breastfeed than mothers born elsewhere.

- One-in-10 mothers had no intention of getting pregnant.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) tracked the families for the Growing Up in Ireland study.

They found expectant mothers are significantly more likely to smoke during pregnancy if they have less qualifications.

Almost one-in-five mothers smoke or drink alcohol at some stage during their pregnancy. When it came to drinking, the figure rose to 26% — or just more than a quarter — of third-level graduates compared to 15% of mothers who left school before the Leaving Cert.

Four-in-10 mothers among the least well educated said they had smoked at some stage during their pregnancy, compared to just 6% of those with a degree-level qualification.

One of the study’s authors, Professor James Williams of the ESRI, suggested uncertainty about the effects of moderate drinking was behind the higher incidence of better-educated women taking alcohol during pregnancy.

“The debate around drinking and pregnancy is much more ambiguous, much less certain than around smoking,” he said.

Children’s Minister Barry Andrews said the figures gave cause for concern and could prompt renewed campaigns on the dangers associated with drinking and smoking during pregnancy.

“There are existing campaigns, run by the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive, trying to highlight the dangers of drinking and smoking in pregnancy,” he said.