Flying grannies.

Although there are times when we need to feel that other people share our ideas and beliefs we still have a sneaking feeling that we're unique. And we are, but not in as many ways as we like to think. We chose our children's names carefully, each one having a purely personal significance - only to discover they're in the current top ten. My startlingly original insights are instantly recognised as tedious commonplaces by the unfortunates on whom they are inflicted. Which brings us to child care.
   For the past few years My wife has travelled to the UK to look after our grandson when our younger daughter has to go away on business. We're well aware that many grandparents help look after their grandchildren on a daily basis. Although we feel guilty that we don't do more, living in a different country makes things difficult, and we rather fancied that my wife was pretty unique in flying in to babysit our grandson as often as she does. Wrong. An article in today's Observer 'based on a survey of 1,413 parents across Britain ... found that in a typical week 7% used relatives who normally live outside the UK to provide childcare, and 5% used it as their main form of childcare'.
   So, once again, we find that rather than being interestingly different we're boringly normal.