Grandparent care. . .

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!

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.

Good grief merlotgran!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 !!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Maybe the army ofunpaid childminders (grandparents) should be paid in a similar manner to nurseries, but from the end of maternity leave.
I am not yet pension age 58 but have looked after my DGC for the past 4years .
My daughter was and is under the threshold for free 2yr old nursery placement,
So I have looked after her little ones. (Which I have loved doing).
This has meant that I do not have any earnings.

But myself and my fellow grandparents are keeping the wheels of industry moving.
Whilst being lambasted and criticised for our endeavors.

If (all) governments really fear for the children's health then there should be free nursery placement from birth to school .
Free meals with no unhealthy food.
Theoretically this should mean healthy children saving NHS thousands in the future.

I nearly exploded when I heard about the research on this morning's programme. I don't know any grans like the ones the researchers came across. I think it was said that the researchers did not take into account the emotional benefits for children of being looked after by grandparents. A major omission.

Was this study from the 60's? I remember MY grandparents did just that! Smoked, lay on couch playing snap, Gave us sweets galore (its what GP's were for surely ha), never heard of 5 a day! Then back to 'grumpy' parents - eat your greens lol...

Our generation of grandparenting is so different! We are ALMOST parents over again!!! We are well versed in the values of nutrition, exercise and so on. My GC think I am the strictest parent lol

This wasn't 56 case studies (newspapers using wrong terminology), this was a systematic review of the data of 56 pieces of research involving over 12 000 people in 18 different countries
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185420
There were concerns about not enough outdoor exercise, grandparents more likely to smoke than parents, too many sweets. And that this increases chances of cancer. Personally I hold my hands up to too many biscuits (plain, honest).

Data from research between 2006 and 2016

Turn the page, turn news off, don't listen. Matters not.

Oh not another blame on the older generation. We’re blamed for overcrowding the NHS, living in houses that are too big for us and daring to get a state pension, it’s as if we have suddenly got a generation of old people that they weren’t expecting. I look after my Grandson two days per week and he has a very healthy dinner at night and is only allowed on tiny chocolate bar when he comes home

I refuse to feed my DGC that dreadful aspartame which is apparently the best thing nowadays to sweeten those awful fizzy drinks that children love so much.
If they ever have a fizzy drink or squash at my house (rarely, I must admit) it will be one made with cane sugar.

Naughty, naughty grandma. Slapped wrist.

Made me mad - why are we all lumped together? My GD knows so much about the countryside and wildlife thanks to us - we have her butterfly larva cocoons hanging from the eaves right now for the winter! We have a den in the woods, we go to the beach, the nature reserve, the playparks, surely we aren't the only ones?

Grandadoscar has done us all a service by tracking down the original nonsensical article. I urge everyone to go to
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185420
and read the article. Then click on comments - register for comments and say what you think.
I have just left a comment as follows:-
This is a poor and unbalanced piece of work. It is written in dense academic prose, which is an invitation to media to simplify and exaggerate the findings, as they have done. There is no evidence that sun exposure or alcohol or tobacco consumption by grandparents have any impact on grandchildren. It was pretty obvious that grandparents would not provide as much physical exercise to grandchildren in view of the age of the grandparent group, though I take my grandsons swimming and to football when their parents are unable to take them. The authors didn't need a grant to prove that.

I suppose that grandparents may contribute to obesity by providing sweets and treats, though in the absence of any quantitative analysis of how much time and how many meals grandchildren have with grandparents we cannot assess whether this is a significant factor in child obesity.
My serious objection is that the authors do not balance the factors they describe against the love and affection, passed on accumulated knowledge, and socialisation which grandchildren get from engaged grandparents. Also the huge economic and social contribution which grandparents make by providing unpaid child care to enable parents to
work and have time off for themselves. The beneficial effect on children's mental health by being in contact with grandparents far outweighs any theoretical risk of cancer inducing factors, and I would like someone to provide a large grant to establish this.