One in three Greek parents asks family to watch the kids

One in three Greeks entrusts the care of their child to a grandmother or other relative as parents have to work and face problems finding affordable and accessible creches in Greece, research suggests.

There have been no studies into the growing role of the Greek grandmother as carer but anecdotal evidence points to a growing trend. Meanwhile a study by the European Union’s statistical service, Eurostat, whose results were made public on May 15, International Day of Families, showed that in Greece only 13 percent of children aged under 3 go to kindergarten, compared to 70 percent in Denmark, 49 percent in Belgium, 45 percent in Portugal, 40 percent in France and an EU average of 28 percent.

According to the same study, parents care exclusively for their child or children in 37 percent of cases in Greece, compared to 73 percent in Bulgaria, 62 percent in Germany, 60 percent in Poland with an EU average of 50 percent.

A study by UNICEF into the situation with Greek children in 2014 found that 28.8 percent of Greek parents said a grandmother or other relative took care of their child, with 32.6 percent saying that a spouse or partner did. Two in three parents (64.5 percent) said they did not work or worked part-time in order to look after their child, while 18.75 percent said the lack of free or accessible childcare was the reason they stayed home.