Grandparents looking after their grandchildren during the holidays is part of a growing trend being driven by the cost of living, experts have said.
“Gramping” – camping trips where the two generations spend time together – is part of skip gen, or skip generation, travel where children go on holiday but their parents stay home.
Trevor Parry, 68, from Stockport, spends summer holidays with his grandson Elliott, eight, at his caravan in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, and said it “put a new lease of life back into me”.
Dr Linda Osti, a senior lecturer in tourism management at Bangor University, said a US study showed grandparents wanted to travel with their grandchildren because “they want to create memories”.
Dr Osti said it had been happening for generations, but there had been “a pick up very recently”.
She said some studies indicated there had been a “three-digit increase in this type of travel” over the past 10 to 15 years.
Elliott’s mum Natalie Bass, 39, works and looks after her youngest child Charlotte, five, at home while her son and her dad spend time together.
During the school holidays Elliott’s parents and sister spend the weekends at the caravan before heading back to Stockport.
Trevor said: “It’s put a new lease of life back into me that I wouldn’t have had if I’d have been spending the time back home on my own and it makes you feel younger.”
Elliott said he loved the arrangement: “It’s really good, actually. We go to Pwllheli a lot, he lets me go on the rides in the arcades and we just have time out a lot.”
Natalie said having her dad’s help was essential: “I basically look at childcare and see how much it’s going to cost and see how can we work it out so it’s not too much of a hit for me during the summer holidays.”
She also said it was “gorgeous” to see the bond growing between Elliott and his “grumpy”.
“There’s just nothing better. Imagine when he’s older saying: ‘I spent every summer with my grandad’.
“I didn’t really get that when I was growing up so I just think that’s going to be really nice.”
Avril Hackett, 76, from Warrington, Cheshire, described her plot at Treetops Caravan Park near Holywell, Flintshire, as her “safe place”.
In summer she shares it with her granddaughter Emily, eight, and said: “I love being here more than I love being at home.”
She is happy to babysit during her holidays to help with childcare costs and said there were other bonuses.
“It makes you do things that you wouldn’t do when you’re on your own. I wouldn’t go down to the beach on my own but I’d go down with her.”
The British Holiday & Home Parks Association said many of its members reported a rise in “gramping” this year, adding that holiday parks were “generally regarded as a safe environment with minimal vehicle traffic and often provide extensive grounds to explore”.
Andy Walker, joint managing director of Treetops, added: “I can see that happening more and more. Certainly times are tough for people and grandparents want to help families out as much as they possibly can.”
