Should grandparents be getting paid for babysitting?

Any parent knows that getting your child into daycare or preschool, especially at the centre you want, can be a nightmare or practically impossible. 
With limited spaces for care across the country and then throw in the soaring cost of childcare fees, people are turning to other alternatives for their little ones. 
A lot of parents are now leaning on family for help, but at what cost? Some say free, but there are a lot of people who think it’s time to put a price on grandma and grandpa helping out with the kids. 
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We asked Aussies whether grandparents should be paid for babysitting in an exclusive Nine.com.au poll and the results are quite split. 
Of the readers surveyed, 42 per cent of them believe that grandparents should be paid for babysitting. 
On the flip side, 58 per cent of readers thought that there’s no need to pay grandparents for babysitting. 
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But it turns out that the question is a little bit more complicated than just a yes or no, with many explaining that it really depends on the circumstance. 
“Grandparents should be paid, it is cheaper than creche and the kids won’t be as sick mixing with a batch of others,” added another reader. 
“If grandparents are babysitting for special occasions or at their request then I don’t think they should be paid. Most would do it for love and time with grandkids. If grandparents are providing child minding then that’s different. If it’s a regular occurrence then yes they should be paid,” said one reader. 
Another echoed that and said, “Grandparents should be paid to babysit if they are required for more than two full days a week.” 
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The big difference for a lot of people is between babysitting, say on a weekend or a one-off day, versus caring for your grandchildren during the week. 
“Being paid as a grandparent to babysit in my opinion is ridiculous, however if a grandparent is enlisted to provide child care more than two days a week so that parents can work, I think a payment in some form isn’t unreasonable, even if it’s a surprise gift intermittently,” said one reader.
“I babysit my grandchildren while my daughter works she pays me $20 for petrol, but if they want to go out and I babysit then she doesn’t pay me which I’m OK with,” added another person. 
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The financial position of both the parents and the grandparents was also a big factor in what should happen. 
While many agreed that grandparents should be paid if they are the ones providing care through the week instead of a daycare, one reader had a different opinion on the payment aspect. 
“I think the grandparent babysitting for payment is a personal thing. Some parents can really afford it, some are struggling and the grandparents do it to help out,” they said.
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