The Parent Trap: 'Moving out of London to live near grandparents saves us £150 a week on childcare'

A toxic combination of spiralling nursery fees and mortgage rates, along with the cost-of-living crisis, has left a significant number of London parents relying on grandparents to supplement or, indeed, be their childcare.

Many young families are ‘forced’ into living near grandparents so they can take advantage of this support.

New research by Zoopla surveyed 2,000 UK parents and found over six in 10 London parents (62 per cent) with children under 13 relied on grandparents for support and, as a result, two thirds (66 per cent) of these parents felt ‘trapped’ into living near them.

The knock-on effect of this was they couldn’t afford to upsize or move to another area or, in some cases, get on the property ladder in the first place.

But, on the flip side, these parents also couldn’t afford to move away somewhere cheaper and forego the free childcare.

With nursery costs now higher than the average UK monthly mortgage, it’s not surprising that the ‘nursery of grandma and grandpa’ is no longer a bonus but fundamental to many London families.

Grandparent support the norm

While it’s a well-known fact that grandparents provide childcare support, Zoopla’s data revealed just how entrenched this is in the capital.

Half (49 per cent) of London parents live within five miles of their child’s nearest grandparent and the average London family receives 593 hours a year of free childcare from grandparents, the highest in the UK.

This free support is worth a staggering £5,868.72 (based on the £9.90 an hour London parents estimate they spend on all types of childcare), so no wonder Londoners are unwilling to move and give this up, even if it means a sacrifice when it comes to their own home.

Lisa Brown

Of the two-thirds of trapped London parents, 44 per cent said they would like to move to a larger home but weren’t able to afford it because of the high property prices near where grandparents are.

These could be seen as the fortunate ones; 40 per cent of trapped London parents said they’d like to buy but had to rent in order to be near grandparents.

Across all London parents — even those who don’t feel trapped — 43 per cent have discussed moving nearer parents or parents-in-law to be closer for childcare. Since having children, 27 per cent of Londoners have moved to be closer to a grandparent, and 17 per cent are planning to move nearby.

Lisa Brown, 32, is a film and content production manager who moved from London to Berkshire with her husband, a cameraman, to be closer her parents for childcare help.

They have a two-year-old son, Zach, and are expecting their second. “My parents tend to look after our son on the days that I go into the office, but they’re really flexible and will even look after him overnight, as well as being happy to look after him when I drop him off at silly o’clock,” she says.

The arrangement is especially helpful for Lisa as her job often involves working unpredictable hours. “My parents helping with childcare saves us at least £150 a week, but the flexibility that they offer is even more valuable — both of our jobs can have long hours, particularly on shoots where days are up to 16 hours. We also have a childminder once a week, but we’d still have to rely on my parents if we increased this, just down to how flexible they are.”

The family previously lived in Ealing and their move to Newbury was mainly driven by a need for childcare: “We did originally look at other areas, but the lack of childcare options available combined with house prices, the commute time to London, and simply not knowing anyone in different areas, made moving closer to my parents an easy decision.”

A national problem

This picture of grandparental support dictating house moves is replicated across the country, with more than half (57 per cent) of UK parents relying on their children’s grandparents for support and over half (52 per cent) of reliant parents feeling ‘trapped’ into living within close proximity to grandparents.

Daniel Copley, Zoopla.

Grandparent support is especially crucial for those who have children under school age and 18 per cent of the UK parents in this bracket, who receive over 10 hours of grandparent support a week, say they prefer grandparents looking after their children.

But finances are also likely to come into play, as they would need to increase their personal incomes by an average of £8,055 a year in order to be able to forgo this free childcare.

In the UK, just 32 per cent receive no childcare support from grandparents or any other relations.

“As a parent, I know first-hand how expensive childcare can be, and how valuable family support is. As such, many Brits feel that they are trapped when it comes to where they live, with it being vital that grandparents are nearby to help out,” says Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla.

“This is leaving many in the tricky spot of not being able to afford to buy a place close to their parents, forcing them to rent when they might otherwise be able to get on the housing ladder. Or simply living in an area they don’t really want to live in.”