Leader: Contribution of grandparents needs to be recognised

Grandparents are the unsung heroes of our society. They help with childcare, enable new parents to return to work and double up as unpaid taxi drivers, home helps and more.

In many ways, they are the glue that holds our society together, helping families to tick over.

A survey shows that each year around 9,000 grandparents abandon their careers so they can help to bring up their grandchildren, a decision which has a hugely positive effect on the nation's economy and on its ability to keep families strong.

When new parents struggle to meet the punitive costs of childcare, grandparents step in. They go unrewarded and unthanked.

Consider the statistics. Eighty-six per cent of those who stop working to care for grandchildren are below retirement age. Around 200,000 grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles and other relatives in the UK are bringing up 300,000 children whose own parents can no longer fulfil the role. Just one in eight manage to find their way back into a job because of their age.

Pretty soon, we'll learn the true value of grandparents – and we'll realise we never had it so good. A new survey shows that in 25 years time, next-generation grandparents will face an almost unmanageable workload. Combining childcare and their day job will mean they will have to be in two places at one time.

The demands on grandparents will go through the roof. In addition to offering practical support to parents who work, they will also be called upon to lend emotional support. A new breed of super-grandparents will be asked to help with chores, mind children and manage other aspects of family life.

When David Cameron was elected Prime Minister, he won on a ticket that emphasised the importance of family values and which placed great store in his Big Society.

It may be time for the Government to recognise the contribution that grandparents make. Unlike carers who receive benefits, grandparents receive nothing.

As our population ages, we face a ticking time bomb. The nation will have more and more elderly people who are being called upon to do more and more work. Something will have to give.

The elderly make a great contribution to our society and the Government needs to recognise the work they do and, in turn, see it can do to help them.