In this Master’s Thesis I devote attention to children’s day-care for those that do not attend day-care centres and the raising and care of children which falls to the grandparents when their parents at work. I devote the first part of the Master’s Thesis to the forms of day-care, I reference research, that has already addressed this topic and highlight the pros and cons of various forms of childcare. I continue with describing the role and importance of grandparents for grandchildren and young families. The main body of the theoretical part is dedicated to the features of the day-care of children at their grandparents, including the activities that are part of the day-care, the upbringing of grandchildren in care and payment that they receive for taking care of their grandchildren. The theoretical part of the Master’s Thesis concludes with the importance of intergenerational solidarity within the family.
The empirical part of the Master’s Thesis is based on qualitative research by method of interviews, in which were collected accounts by five parents, five grandparents and the principal of Vrtec Lendava (Day-care Centre Lendava). From the viewpoint of parents, I was interested in what prompted them to decide to leave their children in the care of their parents instead of the day-care centre, what are the strengths and weaknesses of this form of childcare as opposed to the day-care centres and what are their expectations of their parents regarding childcare. From the viewpoint of the grandparents, I was interested in the structure of childcare, reasons for agreeing to take care of their grandchildren and if they receive and expect payment. I researched how the grandparents see the strengths and weaknesses of taking care of their grandchildren and whether childcare represents a burden to them. I researched how the parents and grandparents view the intergenerational solidarity in their family.
The results of the qualitative analysis showed that the grandchildren have an important role in the lives of their grandparents. The decision about the choice to leave childcare to the grandparents was taken for granted by both the parents and grandparents. The most important reasons for the decision to leave the care of the children to the grandparents were financial, illness-prevention and the belief that a one-year-old is too young to be enrolled in day-care centres. Parents and grandparents believe that the most important advantage of day-care at the grandparents is the low morbidity of children and more time and attention being given to the children. The parents and grandparents see the lack of age appropriate company for the children and greater permissiveness as the main weaknesses of this form of childcare. The research showed that this form of childcare is gender-prevalent in which the grandmothers take on the main care for the grandchildren and the grandfathers help. The grandparents enable active child-care with the passing on of life experiences, traditions and values. I concluded that there are some minor conflicts between parents and grandparents, but the grandparents do not view the taking care of the grandchildren as a burden. The grandparents do not receive payment for the childcare, but the young family offers different types of help.
Based on the results of the analysis, I offered suggestions for further practical operation in the field of childcare at their grandparents as well as for further exploration of this topic.
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