Do Grandparents Owe Us a Dig Out? Episode 486

Do grandparents have a duty to step in and help raise their grandkids—or are we putting too much pressure on them? In this episode, Niall takes calls from listeners on one of the most talked-about family dilemmas in Ireland today.

Around half of Irish grandparents provide some level of childcare, often stepping in when working parents struggle with the soaring cost of crèches and after-school care—sometimes as costly as a second mortgage. But where’s the line between helping out and being taken for granted?

Niall revisits a striking email from a listener whose mother had been minding her two young children every day. When her parents finally said it was too much and that they needed their own time back, the daughter felt badly let down—arguing her mother should feel lucky to spend so much time with her grandchildren.

From summer holidays to school runs, countless families rely on grandparents to fill the childcare gap. But do grandparents have a moral obligation to provide this support—or is it unfair pressure on an older generation who have already raised their own kids?