Abstract
SummaryIn many families grandparents play an essential role by providing secondary care for grandchildren. The family is a key setting for promoting children’s health; however, studies describing health initiatives with grandparents are rare. Grandparents could play an important role in promoting health for their grandchildren within their families and communities. The aim of this study was to examine the care practices of grandparents in families living in areas of high deprivation, and to consider the extent to which grandparents could be at the centre of health-promoting initiatives for children. A family practices approach was used to examine care practices within the framework of family resource (assets/capitals) use. In-depth interviews were carried out with grandmothers (n = 15) and mothers (n = 15) living in areas of high deprivation in Scotland. The results are presented as three economies of family living—political, moral and emotional. Grandparent care was described as a form of social capital, central to the wellbeing of the families, and enabled parents to access education and employment. Grandparent care was supported through families’ ability to access cultural amenities and green space (political). Grandparents’ care practices were described as either being responsible or fun (moral). Love appeared to be at the centre of grandparents’ care (emotional). The strengths and weaknesses of this framework were examined in relation to developing initiatives with grandparents. With further development work, grandparents could be the focus of health initiatives with their grandchildren with the support of appropriate policies and resources within their communities.
Highlights
In many families grandparents play an essential role by providing secondary care for grandchildren
The aim of this study was to examine the care practices of grandparents in families living in areas of high deprivation, and to consider the extent to which grandparents could be at the centre of health-promoting initiatives for children
The results from this study show how integral grandparents are to families living in areas of high deprivation, health initiatives with grandparents providing secondary care at their centre are rare
Summary
Grandparents play an essential role by providing secondary care for grandchildren, when state provision of childcare is limited (Di Gessa et al, 2016a). The family is a key setting in which care practices that influence children’s health and wellbeing are situated. These practices, in combination with wider structural influences, can establish habits that may impact on health into adulthood. Grandparent care can be conceptualized as an asset that many families draw from to further family wellbeing. Assets-based approaches seek to draw from a community’s strengths (the resources available at multiple levels) to promote wellbeing, rather than focusing on deficits (Brooks and Kendall, 2013). AlvarezDardet et al promote assets-based approaches where structures (Alvarez-Dardet et al, 2015), institutions and processes adapt to enable communities (and families) to be empowered to make changes
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