General Chat

I love looking after my Grandson,
he is a delight to mind :-D :-D
His smile lights up my life :-D :-D :-D

I don't think it would work either Lynda - it was bad enough covering all the maternity and paternity leave when I was working.
I must add the time I have spent with my granddaughter has been some of the happiest of my life. I am grateful that my daughter trusted me with her and I treasure our special bond. Now she has just started school I really miss her, but luckily I still get some weekend days :-)

I was fortunate in that I did not work when I had g.children and thoroughly enjoyed many hours wiwth my g.children but I feel that if g.parents are working it is because the y need to - not because they have to.

I've looked after, at some point, all of my grandchildren, not because I was asked to, they all had a nursery to go to, but because I wanted to, I cut back on my working hours to do so, it gave me time with them, that I treasure. I have a great relationship with all of them, like I did with my Grandparents, and as my children had with theirs.

But I'm really not sure that grandparents should be allowed time off from work, when I had business I wouldn't of been happy, if one of employees wanted time off to look after their grandchildren it just wouldn't of worked.

I had children - our responsibility.

Maybe it has changed now but the last 12 weeks of maternity leave was unpaid when my daughter returned to work after having my four year old granddaughter. Luckily I had retired so I took over, if I had been still working guess I would have got the unpaid weeks lol :-D

My daughter negotiated with her employers (a care home) to have always the same two days off so that she can care for her two grandchildren (in a family where both parents need to work full time). I think she in her fifties would be worried about the question of her future employability if she had asked to take such paid parental time off to enable parents to get back to work sooner.

Am I a total cynic, or does the last paragraph imply it's more important the parents get back to work, thereby implying the grandparent's job can't be as important?
Otherwise, how will a grandparent taking leave ' keep thousands more in the workplace' ?

........to share parental leave and pay.

Do you think this Is a good idea?


From BBC........


Working grandparents will be allowed to take time off and share parental leave pay to help care for their grandchildren, the government has said.

The plan would extend the current system, which allows parents to share leave and statutory parental pay.
It was announced by Chancellor George Osborne as the Conservative conference began in Manchester.

Labour's Harriet Harman had proposed a similar policy in a manifesto for women.
Mr Osborne's plan involves extending the current system of shared parental leave - which allows a total of 52 weeks off - to cover grandparents as well as a child's mother and father.
Families will also be allowed to split statutory shared parental pay - which is £139.58 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

The Conservatives say the policy will particularly benefit single mothers who, without a partner to share leave with, will now be able to do so with one of their child's grandparents.
Mr Osborne also hopes the option will allow parents to return to work more quickly if they want to.

He said more than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare when they first return to work after having a baby.
He said: "Research shows two million grandparents have either given up a job, reduced their hours or taken time off work to look after their grandchildren.
"Allowing them instead to share leave with their children will keep thousands more in the workplace, which is good for our economy."