howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Interesting read Howard. We (Ok mainly my wife!) do one day a week looking after our grandson, exhausting work with a 2 year old though we do see changes every week, especially now with vocabulary.
It's amazing how the world has changed since we had ours in the 70s, the amount of gear needed and the support services and information available has changed completely. Eldest daughter is in Edinburgh, where there she even has a book "Edinburgh For the Under 5s"
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
I was very lucky to have my grandmother look after me for some of the time when I was young, (my mother had a hairdressing business), grandmother was like a second mother to me and taught me so much over the years.
---------------------------------------------------
Lincolnshire Born and Bred
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i don't think a nursery can compete with grand parents however well they are run.
at the end of the day the teachers are facing a bunch of children who are strangers.
any grand parent gets great pleasure in teaching something to the child in a way that they enjoy.
ray's grandson is already a virtuoso on the banjo at the age of 2, a lot better than nigel kennedy could manage.
Depends on the grandparents, surely?! Some children would be better off in nursery.............
But it is heartwarming to hear of the success stories above, especially with my own grandparenthood imminent!
Guest 650- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 542
The report is actually a review of literature and subsequent analysis, and further qualifies itself on the collation and analysis of data and the lack of transferable measures of comparison in different childcare settings. It looks at "informal" care (famly members, unregistered child-minders, babysitters, au pairs) compared with "formal" care, (eg nurseries) and comes up with mixed results. They depend on the criteria used for analysis (which are mainly from a particular subset of values, such as vocabulary, social-emotional responses, "school-readiness", educational development, obesity). Of note is that input from non-residential parents and parental care by shifts is not included, and that care by grandparents isn't disaggregated; in practice it means that primary care is mainly given by the grandmother.
Results are also, as would be expected, cross-cut by sex and age of the child, socio-economic group of the family, and educational level of the mother, and there are clear instances where care by formal methods is beneficial. Interestingly, also in the report, after a preamble, is this conclusion by the authors "... we suggest that there is little evidence to suggest that children are substantially advantaged or disadvantaged by being looked after by their grandparents or other informal childcarers".
It's an interesting report, but the results aren't necessarily as clear-cut as the headlines would suggest. Both newspaper articles I've seen on this do reflect this in summary, thought can't, of course, do so in detail. As well, the report highlights (again, as one would expect!) many areas for further research.
One aside consideration of interest is the question of funding for informal childcare, and whether there should be government provision for it beyond the current tax credits available - and whether the changes in state pension age, especially for women, will have an affect (and especially as many women, in particular, also care for elderly relatives).
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 650- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 542
I suppose that would depend on whether the grandparents can demonstrate the skills and qualifications in literacy and numeracy that are not necessarily demonstrated in those applying for or working as nusery and early years staff.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
yes don't forget we have had in some families 3 generations of people looking to have no hope of a job and all that entails.
did readers see temple ewell primary school gone into special measures after failing ofsted.
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
But I also know a significant number of people who have had multiple opportunities to improve their lot and have declined each time, often at our expense having taken a course only to fail it or not turn up, taken a job just to get sacked for poor attendance, or simply not bothered at all. I appreciate keenly the challenges involved in motivating people from a history of poor education and low aspirations, but it is not impossible and should be bedrocked in clear expectations and appropriate reward. Support not benefit. And as the Big Issue says, a Hand Up not a Hand Out.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
bern
thought the tories said that.
and you make the same point as i was trying to make
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS