Intergenerational effects of grandparental care on children and parents

Grandparents act as the third biggest care giver besides day care and parental care for children below the age of 6 in most OECD countries. Despite its relevance, the effects of child care provided by grandparents on child and parental outcomes have received little attention in the literature. We investigate the potential impact of grandparental care on children's non-cognitive outcomes and parental well-being. To capture heterogeneous effects on different dimensions of children's socio-emotional behavior and parental satisfaction, we consider a broad range of outcomes. Based on a representative German panel data set, we analyze age-specific effects for families with children below the age of 11. Our preliminary results suggest null or negative effects on children's health and socio-emotional behavior, but only for children of certain age groups. Additionally, there is suggestive evidence for positive effects on parental satisfaction with the child care situation, parental social contacts and leisure while there are negative effects on paternal satisfaction with the own education and career and the parental satisfaction with the work-life balance, again varying by child age.