Grandparent care. . .

Monica Is that info sheet for the same thing as we have been talking about? It is for a single discussion and survey, and says "If you would like further information about this study, please contact Catherine Ferrell, Survey Manager of the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at 4 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ" and seems to be different from the analysis of 56 existing papers on childrens health and grandparents which is currently under discussion. That is from "[email protected] Affiliation MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow" and others.

I don't think they are the same.

You are quite right Monica. I am sorry to admit, as a Glaswegian, that the Scottish diet is far too heavy on sugar and always was as I was growing up. As a former statistician, and Glasgow graduate, I absolutely agree that this sample is far too small to draw any worthwhile conclusions.

Add it to the endless list of 'sins' us poor grandparents get accused of.

Well I might give them sponge and custard for dessert, but at least they get a decent meal the days we feed them with fresh veg, meat and fruit. The main difference is that I don't criticise their parents. I keep my thoughts to myself.

Can't fathom why GPS are having a pop at grandparents. It's ridiculous - I took care of my kids' health and take care of my own health. Why on Earth would I be any different with my GGD? Maybe some GPs are guilty - but then again, many parents are too.

Here is a link to the info sheet given to participants

dash.sphsu.mrc.ac.uk/public/DEAL/Info-Consent/Grandparents_info_consent/ENGLISH/ENGLISH%20Information_Sheet_for_granparentsv1.pdf

It states on p2 that
^The study has been reviewed by independent researchers, the Public Health Research Consortium,
the Department of Health and by the University of Glasgow Medical Faculty Research Ethics
Committee.^

All I can say as an ex-market research manager, is that they should all be sacked. A sample of 56 from a limited range of schools and churches in one location is NOT a sample you can generalise from. It merely tells you how a sample of 56 people from 12 schools and churches in Glasgow act.

Anyway if the broadcast media read the text below some of the newspaper articles, they would find them using the qualifier some extensively, some grandparents, under half, if I remember correctly.

I also quote from the Scottish Government Health Survey - Children 2011
Much of Scotland's poor health can be attributed to its unhealthy diet. Previous research has shown that children and young people in Scotland follow a diet that falls short of national recommendations and is less healthy than that of children in other European countries.

So those 56 will be good cross section of all children /hmm] I hate academics doing cod science.

Typical one sided article and reporting of this subject. Certainly Maureen Lipman is not representative of any grandparents I know. We work with the parents to ensure they're happy with what we're doing and their wishes must be respected. If I didn't do that my ds's and ddil's wouldn't be happy to leave them in my care. However no mention of the one to one attention and care, outings and visits and costs of those, plus the freshly cooked food I ensure they get when they're with me.

What a load of rubbish. I have 9grandchildren that over the years have either taken personally, or actively encouraged my family to take them to gymnastics, swimming, rugby, football, judo, dancing and on a wet miserable day when outdoor play isn't an option to soft play areas. We have a treat day usually a Friday when yes they do get either sweets or a cake. I also encourage lots of vegetables and fruit. Does much more good than sitting in front of a computer screen or a tv, these things are all good in moderation. I would however criticise the predominately mums that have their eyes and fingers glued to their iPhones while completely ignoring what is happening with their children. Rant over !!!

When I go to school it is the parents I see in cars, those kiddies being collected by grandparents are the ones who walk home

That's not fair DotMH1901 My younger grandchildren live so far away from their school they couldn't possibly walk there. It would take them over 2 hours ! No chance of them getting into a school near to home as they are full.

Anyway I am a grandma and I take my grandchildren to school by car as do plenty others, for the exact same reason that the distance between home and school is too far to walk.

I am shocked by Maureen Lipman. She sounds like a nightmare of a grandparent and co grandparent though I imagine the GCs adore her.

As for getting one up on the co grandparent and children being in cahoots against their parents ?

I follow my instructions from my DCs to the letter, and carried on even after the then three year old began reporting biscuits, ice cream and chocolate happening at home.

There was cake I must admit, but sugar free banana cake and no icing unless a birthday was involved.

I hate this kind of ‘scientific’ report and even more the press who seize on it and twist.

Isn’t this just more oldie-bashing by the media, in particular the BBC? Not only are there no jobs for us, but no pensions for some of us either, and we are denied any automatic legal right to see our grandchildren. Strange that this report has been aired today, on the same day that the issue of the right of grandparents and grandchildren to have contact has been raised in Prime Minister’s Questions. Of course, parents never smoke, always exercise, never buy their kids takeaways or sweets etc, in fact they’re total paragons of perfection.

Have to agree with Grandma70s. The consequences if I gave my GC sweets would be dire. When I queried my son on certain fruit juices, he gave me the overly dramatic reply 'why would I poison my children?' I didn't go screaming mad but I was concerned. His favourite imbibments were Ribena, Capri sun and coffee as a child. I think the GC may reap future problems with this deprivation but hope I'm very wrong. They are very loved and indulged children but, in my opinion, too narrow in some areas. Who knows? I guess my Mother thought I had some quirky ideas about child rearing........ Difference is I think she ignored me.

Good grief merlotgran!

Thanks Elegran for the succinct summaries of the originating article. It does indeed look as if there hadn’t been a sound method used in comparing the results of the studies involved.

As with everything else surely it is a sense of balance? Sometimes the grandchildren are given fruit, sometimes a biscuit. We have been known to give them chocolate but generally not sweets - probably because we don’t eat them ourselves! There are occasions when we play football whilst at other times we love board or card games. We share a book but also enjoy the competitiveness of Mario. We cook, paint, write, do craft activities, play and tidy up. We go out to the beach or park or just stay put! Some are active pursuits, some are not. At other times the children are treated to some quiet time on their tablets. I do not believe for one minute we are doing them any harm – hopefully just an added enhancement to their lives. In common with most on Gransnet, we do our best and generally fall in line with the desired standards set by the younger generation. I tend to think that the questions asked on many surveys lead the respondent towards the required outcomes. The more controversial the better!

At least when children are with their grandparents they probably get some one to one 'chat time' and individual attention rather than being ignored as I have seen by some parents who seem to spend their life on their mobiles! As a generation who grew up before this obsession with phones and computers, grandparents can often represent the simple things in life which can be sometimes overlooked. I take my granddaughter blackberry and litter picking, we do crafts together and play make believe and I try to infuse some general knowledge and common sense too. I don't ever buy sweets but sharing the odd cake and packet of crisps etc. is fine in moderation.

I am now just waiting for the DM version of my previous post. Any bets?

It is all perfectly simple, the authors of this analysis of a complicated mixture of variously valuable/invaluable/valueless studies should do some direct hands-on research themselves and settle it once and for all. No variables of country of research, background of researchers, design and objectives of experiments, funding of work, selection of subjects, recording of method and results, to be allowed to confuse the issue.

They should run a straightforward and unambiguous experiment. All grandparents in the UK would have zero to do with all grandchildren for a year, the essential child care that would then be needed would be organised and funded by the research team (of course using only the most rigid standards of feeding, exercise, and smoking, and not rewarding good behaviour with treats or correcting bad behaviour by witholding treats. All demonstrations of love and affection would be standardised too, the exact number and intensity of hugs, kisses and cuddles to be prescribed by the researchers) At the end of the year, the child subjects would all be euthanased and thoroughly autopsied, livers, kidneys, hearts all weighed and measured, and samples taken of all vital organs and cell types and examined and tested for suspectibility to disease.

The media would love to report on that!!!

What a lot of tosh - I look after my grandchildren full time, we walk to school (grandson gets a lift from his Mum as his school is on her way to work) and home again, they go to after school clubs and play outside (which seems to involve teasing the boys until they get fed up and chase them). They get sweets after school on Friday but I do sometimes buy them at other times - none of them are overweight, in fact my grandson is a long thin streak of a boy having suddenly grown about a foot in a short space of time! When I go to school it is the parents I see in cars, those kiddies being collected by grandparents are the ones who walk home!

Next time I am paddling a canoe round a lake for two hours with my grandson, or scrambling around on some gritstone edge in the Peak District, before setting before him a plate of chicken, bacon and vegetable risotto, I will ponder “do people actually pay these people to produce this kind of rubbish?” Of course, none of them will have had indulgent grandparents, or will be grandparents themselves.

Ooh, I haven't been there for ages BearandCardigan.

"The grandparents' job is kind of to be in cahoots with the grandchildren against the parents.”

!!

How stupid!

Sorry missed this as out with grandson running, playing and taking in all the delights of the Museum Of Welsh Life.

This news seems to fall into the endless game of setting one generation against another.
Yes, another nail in the coffin of good relationships between the generations

I disagree with so many of Maureen Lipman's comments I don't know where to start.