Grandparents provide 766 million hours of childcare a year, saving parents £3.5 billion on nursery costs, according to a new report.

Çözüm Foundation’s ‘intergenerational audit’ found that seven in 10 mothers with children under five are working; this rate was 41 percent in 1992.

But the report found that because of high childcare costs, grandparents often turn to help and more than a quarter support their children in parenting.

In total, grandparents provided an estimated 766 million hours of childcare to their grandchildren in 2022/23; This puts the approximate value of nursery care at £3.5bn.

However, since 2005 there has been no increase in the proportion of young children receiving care from grandparents or in the average hours of work received; This is probably due to later retirement, health problems and age.

However, there has been an increase in the number of adults providing care for the sick, disabled or elderly; Nine percent of adults provide at least five hours of care per week.

Grandparents provide 766 million hours of childcare a year, saving parents £3.5bn on nursery costs, a new report finds (stock image)

In total, grandparents provided an estimated 766 million hours of childcare to their grandchildren in 2022/23; of which the approximate value of nursery care is £3.5bn (stock image)

The report finds that in early adulthood, millennials are ’30 per cent more likely to provide at least five hours of such care per week compared to previous generations of similar ages’.

Elsewhere, the report found that ‘boomerang children’ who move back in with their parents after leaving home save an estimated total of £3bn a month in rent.

The Solution Foundation said that as well as financial benefits, living at home can provide wider emotional support and also enable young people to take career risks that can help their future progress.

But he warned that living with parents for long periods of time could have a negative impact by potentially preventing young adults from moving to parts of the country with better economic opportunities.

But parents have an increasing role in helping children move elsewhere and buy their own home.

The report said people helped by ‘Mom and Dad Bank’ were able to ‘put down twice as much deposits, buy larger first homes and make lower mortgage payments than those who did not receive help’.

One in three recent first-time gift recipients said they had received help from friends or family, and the total value of financial gifts has more than doubled in the last decade, reaching a record £29 billion in the two-year period in 2018-20.

The report stated: ‘These gifts mostly come from parents (73 percent) and inevitably it is wealthy parents who give more. In 2018-20, 23 per cent of over-50s in the top wealth quintile reported giving a financial gift, compared to just 3 per cent in the bottom wealth quintile.’

Resolution Foundation economist Molly Broome said: ‘As Britain gets older and richer, transfers between generations play a bigger role in shaping people’s economic prospects.

‘Today, families are playing a greater role in helping young people get on the housing ladder, older workers stepping down and retiring from the job ladder, and supporting relatives when they are ill.

‘These family transfers are extremely important and can be very beneficial. However, these are not shared equally in society.

Those who are not lucky enough to have wealthy parents often have difficulty finding a home of their own or enjoying early retirement.

‘Expanding the scope of child care services in recent years has increased parental employment. But the same expansion has not been seen in adult social care, which has limited employment opportunities for carers.

Looking ahead, policymakers must ensure that adult care is valued as much as child care.’