Grandparents, childcare or both?

Both childcare centres and grandparents' care offer benefits that impact the wellbeing and development of infants. That is the opinion of Joe Caluori from the Daycare Trust, who suggests that it is up to parents which programme of care is best for their child. "On the one hand grandparents can help increase the reading age of children, and on the other hand the structured environment of childcare prepares children better for schools, while also giving them a wider range of activities they can participate in," he explained.

"We don't think it should be an 'either, or'. There is value in the care provided by grandparents and there is also value in the care provided in the childcare centres."

The Centre for Longitudinal Studies reported that children who were being looked after by grandparents at the age of nine months were considered to have more behavioural problems at age three than those who had been in the care of a nursery, creche, childminder, nanny or another family member.

However, on average, kids cared for by grandparents tended to achieve higher scores in an assessment that measured their understanding of colours, letters, numbers, sizes, comparisons and shapes.

According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, to date, the right to request flexible working has already benefited more than six million people in the UK.