Parents who use grandparents for childcare issued '30 minute' warning

Parents who use grandparents for childcare have been issued a 30 minute warning. Mums and dads have reported they feel "trapped" by their reliance on grandparents to look after their children amid the ongoing Cost of Living crisis.

Seven in 10 parents live within a 30-minute journey of their child's nearest grandparent, according to the research for property website Zoopla. 57 per cent of parents with kids under 13 rely on grandparents for childcare, Zoopla's survey reveals.

Zoopla's research, which surveyed 2,000 parents of under-13s, shows that 50 per cent live within five miles of the children's closest grandparent And the study from the property listing website found 68 per cent are within a 30-minute trip.

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52 per cent of mums and dads benefiting from grandparental childcare confess to feeling "trapped" by their location. 36 per cent of these parents admit they couldn't manage without this support, though, as the Cost of Living crisis continues nationwide.

Nearly half of the 'trapped' mums and dads up and down the UK dream of moving to a larger property But the parents surveyed by Zoopla this week have also heartbreakingly reported they are being priced out by steep local house prices.

Daniel Copley, a consumer expert at Zoopla, has urged parents to engage in "open and honest conversations with grandparents about the support they are prepared to offer, and how far they would be willing to travel".

"Many may be looking to move to a smaller home, or free up some of the equity in their home to fund their retirement, and moving to a more affordable location may work for them as well," he added. The survey, conducted by Mortar Research in June, gathered insights from over 2,000 UK parents with children under 13.

For information on childcare support, individuals are directed to visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.