How are informal caregiving and support associated with grandparental childcare? Evidence from Europe

Grandparental childcare is an important form of social support, which may improve the well-being of grandchildren, parents, and grandparents themselves. Prior studies have detected that older adults who provide support to one party are more likely to offer help and care to family and other close ones; however, there is a lack of research on multitasking that examines whether helping others is associated with grandparental childcare. We used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe from 27 countries to examine whether (i) informal caregiving (i.e., informal, unpaid care provided in the same household) and (ii) informal support (i.e., informal, unpaid support provided to someone outside the household) are associated with grandparental childcare. We found that informal caregiving in the same household was associated with neither an increase nor a decrease in grandparental childcare. However, informal support given to someone outside the household was associated with increased grandparental childcare. These findings are discussed in relation to resource competition in a family, grandparental role extension, and grandparental role overload.