None of it is surprising, but I can’t help but feel that in two-working-parent families often the cost saving is to afford nice to haves, rather than necessities. Which means grandma (and it’s almost always grandma) is basically funding holidays or a new car or meals out.
I really feel for these grandparents. They’re often not far off caring for an ailing spouse, or ailing themselves. It’s not a life. Women through the centuries and around the world are unpaid carers from the moment they can start until they physically can’t do it anymore. This modern version is no different really.