THE GRAND ILLUSION:
BEING GRANDPARENTS IN THE 21st CENTURY
NEW STUDY FROM NICKELODEON AUSTRALIA FINDS THAT
SEVENTY-NINE PERCENT OF GRANDPARENTS THINK THEY ARE DOING A GOOD JOB,
BUT IT COMES AT A COST
ONE-THIRD CONTRIBUTE TO THE COSTS OF RAISING THEIR GRANDCHILDREN,
FORTY PERCENT SAY THEY OFTEN MAKE SACRIFICES AND
RETIREES SPEND OVER $400 PER MONTH
Sydney, 7 May 2018 – Nickelodeon Australia, a division of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), today unveiled the results of “The Grand Illusion: Being Grandparents in the 21st Century,” a new study exploring the expanding role grandparents play in today’s family.
With multi-generational households on the rise and the growing costs of childcare leading to more than 800,000 grandparents providing care for their grandchildren each week 1 *, Nickelodeon conducted a local quantitative study amongst 1,000 Australian 55 to 75 year-old grandparents with grandchildren aged 0-17 in April 2018. The study shows that 88 percent of grandparents say family is their number one priority and overwhelmingly agree it’s important to provide support and guidance, pass down family and cultural traditions, and teach their grandchildren life skills. However, the support they provide comes at a cost.
One-third of all grandparents contribute to the costs of raising their grandchildren, leaping to three-quarters among those who provide care on a daily basis. Retired grandparents spend the most per month on their grandchildren (an average of $402.40) with money mostly going toward presents, food and drink, clothes, toys and day trips. Forty percent say they make sacrifices to provide care for their grandchildren and twenty percent say it can be a financial burden, but only ten percent indicated caregiving has impacted their original plans for retirement.
Of those surveyed, 88 percent say they enjoy being a grandparent and 42 percent say they enjoy being a grandparent more than they did being a parent. Of those caregiving on a regular basis, 71 percent say they are playing a larger role than their own grandparents did with them, they have a closer relationship with their grandchildren as a result, and agree that helping out is part of their role within the family. 82 percent of Australian grandparents cite “doing fun things together” as the most important part of their role.
Children are well looked after by their grandparents, with 85 percent indicating that they give their full attention to their grandchildren when they are playing with them. The activities they do together vary depending upon the ages of the children and those with younger grandchildren are more likely to go on walks, play games or read. Pre-teens tend to talk, watch TV or go to shows or special events with their grandparents, while those with teenage grandchildren cited outings such as the cinema, music events, galleries or the beach as common activities.
1 * Source: The Grandparent Childcare and Labour Market Participation in Australia Report, 2015
Despite almost four in ten having had disagreements or raised concerns regarding their grandchildren with their own children, two-thirds of grandparents surveyed think parenting has changed dramatically since they had children and almost half feel that expectation on parents is too high. Nearly sixty percent believe their grandchildren have so many more opportunities than their parents, but 57 percent say kids are under more stress than they should be. More than sixty percent of grandparents think kids are growing up with fewer rules and less discipline, and more than half feel kids are too protected. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 65 percent say that kids today are too spoiled but over half admit that they spoil their grandchildren themselves.
Overall, almost 80 percent of grandparents think they are doing a good job while more than a quarter say it is harder than they thought it would be. Over 80 percent also say being a grandparent has changed their lifestyle, a statistic that jumps to 90 percent amongst regular caregivers. More than half of those who provide regular care say that looking after their grandchildren can be physically demanding, and a third said it affected the time they have for themselves.
Kirsty Bloore, Vice President of Research for Asia Pacific at VIMN
“Grandparents take their role and responsibilities in the family very seriously, particularly as more and more are caring for their grandchildren on a regular basis,” said Kirsty Bloore, Vice President of Research for Asia Pacific at Viacom International Media Networks. “This is resulting in stronger bonds between grandparents and grandchildren, but it also has an impact on grandparents’ time and money. Ultimately, the reward is more time spent together and, perhaps, the permission to indulge and spoil their grandkids.”
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 39th year globally and 23rd year in Australia, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon is the number one subscprtion television channel for kids 5-12 in Australia and airs 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Foxtel (Channel 701) and Fetch TV (Channel 146). Outside of the United States, Nickelodeon is a part of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc.
About Viacom International Media Networks
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, MTV LIVE HD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, and more. Viacom brands reach more than 3.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.
For more studies from the Viacom Global Insights team, visit insights.viacom.com.
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Additional source: Mediaweek.
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