A whole generation of grandparents who take care of their grandchildren every day is the real image of Spanish society.
The economic crisis has affected all sectors of society. Grandparents have become a new alternative to save money. Parents don’t want to spend money on nurseries, nannies or day care centers anymore. Grandparents have a key role in family economies. They are essential for taking care of children and even bringing them up.
Grandparents are responsible for taking kids to school, to the dentist, to football matches and now in summer they are with children all day while their parents are working.
The downside is that the elderly don’t have time for their own hobbies and the experience of raising their children’s’ children can be exhausting. On the other hand, young parents are at ease knowing that the third generation offer affection that day care centers cannot give their children, not to mention the money they can save.
Now that school is out until September, it is common to see grandparents playing with their grandchildren in parks, taking them to swimming lessons or strolling with them while the kids’ parents are working. This image has become a classic part of society but it also has consequences; grandparents are not prepared to raise children again.
Mónica Ortega is a working mother. She says that she can’t combine her job with the education of her three children. “Grandmothers give the love children need,” Ortega says. She is reluctant to hire a nanny and she opts to take her children to her mother’s home.
Ortega and her husband Javier notice grandparents are more permissive and children can be spoiled by privileges they get from their grandparents.
During summer holidays children spend most of the day with their grandparents. “It’s the best alternative,” explains María Carmen Morillas, grandmother of five.
Morillas is aware of her limitations and says she doesn’t have enough energy to play with her grandchildren every day. She needs some free time once in a while.
Although it is a big effort, most of them would not change the situation and feel privileged to witness how their grandchildren grow with them. That is something to be proud of.
Text and photo by Irene Villanueva
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