TL;DR
A Family First survey of more than 18,000 people across 15 countries found that 9% of UK grandparents see their grandchildren every day, the lowest share in the countries surveyed and below the 33% global average. The research also found that 59% of UK children say their parents are sometimes or definitely too busy to spend time with them, while 62% say screens sometimes or more often interrupt family conversations.
A global survey of more than 18,000 people found that just 9% of UK grandparents see their grandchildren every day, the lowest proportion among the 15 countries surveyed. The Family First research also found that many UK children report limited time with busy parents and interruptions from screens, offering a snapshot of family relationships rather than proof of what is causing those patterns.
Turn the school run and nap time into listening time
- Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and originals
- Listen on your phone, tablet or Echo — also offline
- Cancel anytime
The daily-contact figure in the UK was below the survey’s 33% global average. MadeForMums reported that daily contact was also relatively uncommon in Australia, at 10%, Sweden, at 12%, and Canada, at 14%. By contrast, more than half of grandparents surveyed in Malaysia, India and China said they saw their grandchildren daily: 68%, 65% and 54%, respectively.
Contact at least once a week was also comparatively limited in the UK: 49% of UK parents said they spent time with their own parents weekly or more often. The report placed the UK among the countries with the lowest proportions on that measure, but the supplied findings do not give the full country-by-country ranking.
Children’s answers point to other strains alongside intergenerational contact. Fifty-nine percent of UK children said their parents were sometimes or definitely too busy to spend time with them, and 51% said they had felt like a burden to their parents at least rarely. At the same time, six in 10 UK children said they tell their parents every time they are bullied, the third-highest share among the countries surveyed.
Family Time Across Generations
The findings matter because they bring together several measures of family connection: how often grandparents see grandchildren, how children experience time with parents, and whether technology interrupts conversation. Taken together, the results indicate that some UK families report challenges in maintaining contact and attention, while also showing that many children still turn to parents for support.
The survey does not establish that busy schedules, technology or social systems caused the reported patterns. It records participants’ responses at one point in time, so the figures should be read as reported experiences, not as a diagnosis of family life across the UK. Still, the comparison may inform discussion among families, employers and policymakers about how work and daily routines affect time together.
One contrast in the findings is that 46% of UK parents said their family regularly spends time together without screens interfering, matching the reported figure in the United States. Yet 62% of UK children said screens stop their family talking properly at least sometimes. Those answers can coexist: one concerns regular screen-free time, while the other includes disruption that happens sometimes.
Products Worth Considering
Graco TriRide 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat, Kipling
LEGO Super Mario Nintendo Entertainment System 71374 Building Set
LEGO Star Wars AT-ST Walker UCS Building Set (75417)
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How Family First Gathered Its Data
The findings come from Family First, a global initiative of the Varkey Foundation intended to examine relationships among children, parents and grandparents and how families remain connected across generations. The survey was conducted by research agency We Are Family in January and February 2026.
Researchers surveyed 6,002 parents, 6,011 children aged 9 to 18, 3,000 grandparents of children aged 9 to 18, and 3,000 Gen Z participants across 15 countries. The countries were Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.
The report also describes differences by age group in views of family closeness. Across the countries surveyed, 68% of school-age children said they were very happy with their family overall, compared with 51% of Gen Z participants. The supplied results do not specify that these global figures apply to the UK alone.
“Just 9% of UK grandparents see their grandchildren daily.”
— MadeForMums, reporting the Family First findings
What the Survey Cannot Establish
The published summary does not provide detailed methods such as how participants were recruited, how the questions were worded, or the margin of error for each country. It is therefore not possible from the supplied information to assess how closely each sample represents its national population or whether differences between countries are statistically meaningful.
The results also do not explain why UK grandparents see grandchildren less often, or whether distance, work patterns, family circumstances, health, care responsibilities or other factors account for the responses. The survey records self-reported answers; it does not track family contact over time. Some measures also refer to different age groups and questions, so they should not be treated as interchangeable.
Further Detail on Family Contact
The next step for readers seeking a fuller comparison is publication of the survey’s detailed country-level results and methodology. Those details would help clarify the ranking, the sampling approach and how the questions distinguished daily, weekly and less frequent contact.
For now, the findings are a survey snapshot from early 2026, not a forecast or a record of changes over time. Further research would be needed to identify what shapes contact between grandparents and grandchildren and whether reported pressures on family time are increasing.
Key Questions
9% of UK grandparents in the Family First survey said they see their grandchildren daily. That was the lowest proportion among the 15 countries surveyed.
How does the UK figure compare with the global average?
The UK figure of 9% was below the survey’s reported global average of 33%. The survey also reported daily contact above 50% in Malaysia, India and China.
What did UK children say about time with their parents?
59% said their parents were sometimes or definitely too busy to spend time with them. Separately, 51% said they had felt like a burden to their parents at least rarely.
When was the survey conducted?
We Are Family conducted the survey in January and February 2026 across 15 countries. The sample included more than 18,000 parents, children, grandparents and Gen Z participants.
Does the research explain why UK grandparents have less frequent contact?
No. The reported findings show differences in participants’ answers but do not establish why contact is less frequent in the UK or prove that any one factor caused the result.
Source: rss
