In this paper we focus on the impact of grandparent versus other forms of care on child outcomes. We utilize the Millennium Cohort Survey (MCS) for the UK, which provides very detailed information about different types of child care as well as several child outcomes. Our results show that grandparental care does not differ significantly from parental care. Compared with formal child care, care provided by parents and grandparents to two-year olds has a positive impact on the child’s ability to name objects, but a negative impact on the child’s basic concepts development, on his ability to construct objects and to grasp mathematical concepts. These results hide strong heterogeneities: on the one hand, the positive association between family care and child outcomes is significant only for children in more advantaged households; on the other hand the negative association is significant only for children in more disadvantaged households.
Presented by:
Daniela Piazzalunga (Università degli studi di Torino)
Date & time:
June 25, 2014 11:00 am - June 25, 2014 12:00 pm
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