It is cheaper for them to fly me over rather than to pay a babysitter

It is cheaper for them to fly me over rather than to pay a babysitter

15 June 2016

ANNE Campbell is very different from most other commuters on board her flight to London.

Alongside the tradesmen and business people boarding flights to London each week stands the super commuting granny.

Rather than travelling to an office or building site, the retired schoolteacher is undertaking a 500 mile journey for childminding duties.

Alternating weeks with her daughter’s mother-in-law, Anne looks after two of her grandchildren, allowing her daughter Jennifer Beswick to maintain her teaching job.

The slightly unusual arrangement began four years ago when Jennifer confided in her mother the concern she had about leaving her first born Anna with a stranger when she was due to return to work following a year-long maternity leave.

Flippantly suggesting that she commute, the two women thrashed out a plan to divide childcare care between two grannies, only one of whom was London based.

Anne said they soon found themselves putting their ambitious plan to the test. They were pleasantly surprised by how well things worked out.

Following the addition of second baby Ciara to the family, Anne said the arrangement, which she describes as “very modern”, continues to work brilliantly,” she said.

“We thought we could see how it goes and it works really well.

“When Anna was a baby I went every two weeks for four days, except for school holidays when my daughter is off work. It seems very modern but I like it because it keeps me active and gives me something to do.”

Anne, who retired to Strangford nine years ago after several decades teaching in Dublin, said she also benefits from the buzz of city life during her time in London.

Being involved in the establishment of one of Ireland’s first special schools towards the end of her career, she said she was used to being busy and found commuting the perfect antidote to retired village life.

“It is a lovely arrangement. It is cheaper for them to fly me over rather than to pay a babysitter. It is brilliant.

“It means I can have a good solid relationship with my grandchildren and a different type of relationship with my daughter.”

“I know other people who do this as well. I know I am not unique and when I am on the train from the airport there are other grandparents travelling to do the same thing.”

Primary school teacher Jennifer, meanwhile, says the reasons for bringing her mum to London to babysit are both personal and financial.

She said handing her baby to an unknown childminder was inconceivable to her in the early days, while the high costs of day care for her children now they are slightly older means it is still feasible to bring her mum to London.

With a private nursery in the city costing £77 per day, £45 per day for a childminder, or £9 per hour for a nanny, she said it was “financially easier” for her mum to commute.

The fact she works part-time, and was keen to stick to her reduced hours, meant she did not need her mum in London from Monday to Friday.

“Giving Anna to a stranger to return to work was not an option for me and when we looked into childcare, whether it was a nanny, babysitter or nursery, I struggled to make a decision as she was only one,” she said.

“It turned out that it was cheaper to fly my mum back and forth and, as she shares it with the other granny, they take one week on and one week off depending on what is happening.

“We are very close and it is lovely to have her there when I come home from work. We can go to the theatre and go shopping so she can also enjoy city life part-time.

“It is also good for the relationship between the grandparents and the children.”

Anna said she comes to her parents’ home in Strangford every half term and holiday with Anna, who is now five, and Ciara, who is one-and-a-half.

Having grown up in Dublin and living in London for over a decade, she said she the low-cost of living in Northern Ireland is always a pleasant surprise when she comes to Strangford.

“Even the cost of a coffee, or if we go for lunch, I am always shocked by how low the prices are in Northern Ireland,” she said.

“Everything surprises me, food too in supermarkets is so much cheaper.

“I make the most of that and book my beautician in Strangford for every six weeks when I fly back and also my hair appointments. It makes so much more sense.

“Because of family, I would love to move back her permanently, but my husband’s job is in licensing so he would have more opportunities in London. I suppose I am so lucky to have my mum travelling to us for now.”