Two-fifths (40%) of the nation’s grandparents over the age of 50 have provided regular childcare for their grandchildren, according to an Age UK survey.

But what happens when offering childcare starts to impact your social life?

Such is the case for one grandmother who opened up about feeling “trapped” after agreeing to look after her grandchildren.

In a candid post shared to Mumsnet, the grandparent explained she is divorced and has three children and seven grandchildren. While her two daughters live nearby, her son lives further afield, meaning she doesn’t get to see his children as much as the others.

When she retired, the grandparent said she’d agreed with her daughters she would help with childcare, mostly before and after school, but suggested her grandchildren should attend holiday clubs.

“In the end my daughters complained so much about how much the children would prefer to be with me that I agreed to covering holiday clubs too, mainly to keep the peace,” she added.

But now that decision has come back to haunt her.

“I am now feeling really trapped by this,” she lamented. “I used to be able to go and visit friends or visit my son whenever I wanted to but now I can’t.”

The grandparent shared that when she asked her daughters to reconsider using wraparound care once or twice a week, or try holiday clubs, even offering to pay any extra costs incurred, she claimed they “almost ganged........

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