Maternal grandmothers account for 54% of the auxiliary caregivers in households participating in the Seoul Childcare Support Program. (Image courtesy of Seoul City)
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — An innovative childcare support program in Seoul offering 300,000 won monthly to grandparents caring for two-year-old children has revealed a striking pattern: maternal grandmothers comprise more than half of the participating grandparents.
According to a policy review by the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family, maternal grandmothers account for 54% of the auxiliary caregivers in households participating in the Seoul Childcare Support Program. Paternal grandmothers make up 36.4%, followed by maternal grandfathers at 5.9% and paternal grandfathers at 3.8%.
The findings come from an online survey conducted from July 23 to August 13 last year, polling 1,109 participants – 631 parents and 478 grandparents – from families where grandparents assist with childcare.
Launched in September 2023, the program provides financial support to relatives within four degrees of kinship who assist in caring for two-year-olds for more than 40 hours monthly.
To qualify, both parents and children must reside in Seoul, have a household income below 150% of the median income, and belong to families facing childcare gaps, such as dual-income households, families with multiple children, or single-parent families. Dual-income households receive a 25% reduction in their combined income calculation.
The support scale varies with the number of children: 300,000 won monthly for one child, 450,000 won for two, and 600,000 won for three children.
The study found that 70.4% of grandparent caregiving occurs before and after daycare center hours, coinciding with parents’ work schedules. Other care patterns include “as needed” (19.3%), “all day” (8.1%), and “other” (2.2%).
When asked why they sought help from grandparents, parents cited multiple reasons: 48% expressed distrust in professional childcare workers, 46.4% mentioned lack of emergency care options, and 45.6% found solo parenting challenging.
The report emphasizes that despite expanded public childcare programs, care gaps persist when parents’ work hours remain unchanged, forcing grandparents to step in. It suggests that rather than extending public childcare hours, the fundamental solution lies in promoting reduced and flexible working hours.
Additionally, the report notes that the program’s current limitation to two-year-olds fails to address the reality that grandparents often provide care until children reach early elementary school age, recommending that the program be expanded to cover both a wider age range and longer duration.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
