Why Is Sweden Paying Grandparents to Babysit? It’s Worth a Try
Compensating people to care for their grandchildren may seem absurd at first, but there are good economic reasons for it.
Grandma and Grandpa could help.
Photographer: Anatoly Tanin/AFP
At first glance, the policy sounds absurd, especially to many Americans: In Sweden, grandparents are now eligible for government subsidies to babysit their grandchildren. As a proud grandparent myself, I would be willing to pay to babysit my grandkids. (I don’t have to, but I would.) It would feel wrong to accept government money for my services.
And even in the Swedish context, the program seems excessive. The country has long had first-rate and well-subsidized child-care facilities, which is another reason not to pay grandparents anything, and Sweden already has high levels of government spending and taxation. Is this additional benefit — and expenditure — really what it needs?