Grandparental care and early childhood development: A decade's worth of insight from three Singaporean cohorts.

Abstract

Singapore's aging population and the geographical proximity of Singaporean families may contribute to comparatively high rates of grandparental caregiving. This study describes the prevalence of grandparental caregiving and investigates concurrent and longitudinal effects of grandparental care on infant and preschool-aged children's preacademic, executive function, and socioemotional outcomes for the first time in Singapore. In the present study, grandparental caregiving was operationalized as time spent and as children's preferences for their grandparents. Data from three longitudinal studies conducted over the past decade were used (259 from Growing Up in Singapore Toward Healthy Outcomes [GUSTO], 122 Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes [S-PRESTO], and 39 from Singapore Parenting and Cognition in Early Childhood [SPACE]). Results suggested that grandparental care may be on the decline in recent years and most of the grandparental care-child outcome associations were not significant. Still, when effects were observed, the majority were negative when time spent was considered and positive when preference was considered. Furthermore, maternal sensitivity significantly moderated the association between grandparental care and child outcomes, exemplifying the importance of considering children's larger caregiving network when examining the effects of grandparental care. A greater understanding of how to support grandparental caregiving for optimal child outcomes will be beneficial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).