Sam Smethers, chief executive of the charity Grandparents Plus, said it would like to see children's centres, Sure Start and playgroups trying 'to reach grandparents who are providing that vital childcare role'.
Research by the Institute of Education last week found that children cared for by their grandparents struggle to socialise with other children and are more likely to have behavioural problems than children who are in nurseries or with nannies and childminders (News, 12 February).
Ms Smethers said that efforts to attract grandparents to toddler groups would 'give children the opportunity to mix with others and help to prepare them for school in the way the research suggests.'
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