Any analysis on how an economy is performing will at best be defective if it ignores the input of unpaid labour that keeps the productive sector of the labour market well-oiled at all times. Obsession with measuring GDP growth as accurately as possible is understandable for policy makers. But more visionary analysts look at the big picture of what is happening in our society.
The extended family used to be an important characteristic of Maltese society up to three or four decades ago. Members of the same family but spanning three generations living under the same roof was not an uncommon feature in the childhood of many baby boomers who now themselves are three generations from their grandchildren – or even great grandchildren. Socio-economic research in Malta is quite rare so we need to rely on studies made in the UK and other countries to understand the economic impact of today’s modern family structure.
It is a reality that today young people struggle to put their foot on the first step of the property ladder because of high housing costs; young mothers have to become experts at multi-tasking to help out in raising the family income; childcare costs have increased at a much faster rate than average incomes; and families expect to take holidays abroad to let off steam as a result of increasing stress brought about by a hectic lifestyle.
The recent double income necessity of parents or their rising marital problems has revived the culture of grandparents assisting in raising grandchildren
Professional persons with high incomes usually manage to address all these issues through hiring the services of child minders and other individuals who can deal with the daily chores that a couple can no longer find time for as a result of their busy time schedule.
Others often revert to grandparents for the extra help that the typical modern family needs.
A joint UK survey by the charities Grandparents Plus, Save the Children, and the Family and Childcare Trust revealed some very important information on how vital the role of grandparents is in helping young families economically and socially.
One result of this survey is that “a hidden army of grandparents have stepped in to help families who cannot afford mounting childcare costs, with nearly two million of them giving up work, reducing their hours of taking time off to do so”.
More than one in eight grandparents say they have spent more than £1,000 on their grandchildren in the past 12 months.
These realities are creating even more pressure on policy makers. While even locally pensioners have every justification to fret about the inadequacy of the state pension to ensure that they do not suffer a fall in their quality of life, the added role that most grandparents are taking in supporting their children and grandchildren is another very valid reason for a review of the national state pension.
Another headache for policy makers is that while on the one hand they are urging older people to keep working to ease the pressure on the pension fund, these same older people are playing a vital role in keeping young families productive in the workforce thanks to their financial and non-financial support as grandparents.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, says: “This is generation generosity in action. It suggests we need to rethink working requirements for the ageing population, who are being expected to work longer and care for more grandchildren. This simply is not sustainable.”
Locally the introduction of free childcare during normal working hours is one of the most progressive socio-economic measures introduced in the last few years. But more needs to be done.
Many parents on low incomes are already being priced out of formal childcare if their work shifts do not coincide with the time when free childcare is available. Unless they have understanding parents and grandparents they often opt to quit work and risk becoming dependent on social assistance.
All these realities put pressure on grandparents who often have limited resources themselves and those families who do not have grandparents with time or money to miss out on this vital source of support.
This is where policy makers need to be more creative and daring in acknowledging these changes in our society without creating a culture of dependence on state handouts.
The modern era did disintegrate some of the families into nuclear families. But the recent double income necessity of parents or their rising marital problems has revived the culture of grandparents assisting in raising grandchildren. Thank heaven for grandparents.
johncassarwhite@yahoo.com