Parenting programmes should be set up to assist working parents with the perceived guilt they feel on leaving children in day care while at work, according to a report published yesterday.
The recommendation is made in an Age Action Ireland report, following interviews with grandparents across the State who expressed concern that parents were giving in to childrens' demands in families where both parents worked.
"They perceived their grandchildren as being or becoming the dominant members of the household. They attributed this shift in the balance of power to both parents working and the guilt they might feel because their children are cared for by childminders or in creches.
"Additionally, grandparents reported that when working parents arrive home in the evening they are too tired to interact with their children, feel guilty and compensate by acquiescing to their demands," the report Grandparenthood in Modern Ireland said.
In the study, which was launched by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, 58 grandparents ranging in age from 40 to 92 were interviewed.
Some grandparents who engaged in considerable caring for their grandchildren reported feeling tired, while others spoke about the pain of being separated from their grandchildren, usually after the relationship between the child's parents broke down.
The interviews were conducted by Dr Francesca Lundstrom and she concluded that an out-of-school and after-school initiative should be put in place to assist working parents; that the family mediation service should offer assistance to grandparents when couples separated to help them iron out visitation with their grandchildren; that some Government departments needed to strengthen their customer information service and ensure that customers were treated with esteem and that their dignity was not eroded while seeking assistance from Departments.
Mr Robin Webster, Chief Executive of Age Action Ireland Ltd, said the research was carried out in an attempt to challenge the overwhelmingly negative attitudes towards ageing and older people. He said Age Action Ireland would press Government and other policy making bodies to take action on the report's recommendations.