A single working mom, Carolyn Moore has complete peace of mind leaving her three children each morning.

With grandma and grandpa watching over them, she knows they're in the best of hands, Moore said.

"Half the time they don't want to come home; they want to stay at grandma's,'' she said of her 9-year-old son, Jesse, and daughters Jenna, 4, and Marissa, 2. "They know they can always turn to grandma.''

Grandparents providing child care for their grandchildren is an increasing trend, according to a 2010 study by grandparents.com. The study reports of the 70 million grandparents nationwide, 72 percent take care of their grandchildren on a regular basis with 13 percent acting as primary caregivers. The study also showed that 60 percent live close to their grandchildren.

"I'm not paying for day care and I have the peace of mind. When I hear what some of my co-workers are paying for child care, I can't imagine,'' said Moore, of Johnsburg. "It's hard enough.''

Aside from watching the children, they drive them to doctors' appointments and anywhere else they need to be, Moore said of her parents, Kathy and Greg Haze of Johnsburg.

And her children know they will have fun with grandma and grandpa.

"They love it when she bakes with them,'' Moore said of her girls. "My son likes to help my dad with yard work or build things in his shop.''

For Guyette Hunter, 80, of Crystal Lake, providing care for her 15 grandchildren over the years has been rewarding.

"We have 15 grandchildren, and we've helped all of them,'' Hunter said, adding that she has six children.

Most recently, she's provided daily care for her daughter Linda Hunter-West's four boys.

"We always said, 'When you need us, we'll be there.' My husband enjoyed every moment of his retirement with the kids,'' Hunter said of her husband, Edward, who is deceased.

Grandpa, she said, liked to spoil the grandchildren, bringing over dozens of doughnuts and telling them to "fill up their plates.''

"I imagine she bit her tongue about the doughnuts,'' Hunter said of her daughter. "He did the same with pizza.''

Knowing her mom and dad were watching over her boys helped Hunter-West go to work without worrying, she said.

"You don't trust anyone more with your children. It's the peace of mind – they're being taken care of and getting loved. She's 80 years old, and she still comes over,'' Hunter-West said of her mom, who still comes to check on her sixth-grade grandson after school.

For her boys, T.J., Corey, Zachary and Nicholas, it meant a lifelong closeness with their grandparents and memories they'll never forget.

"Parents and grandparents don't always see eye to eye. They're more lenient with them, and they get spoiled,'' said Hunter-West of Crystal Lake. "You can't yell at your father.''

The time she spent with them was priceless, Hunter said.

"It was such a blessing," he said. "It was just always fun to be with them."

When her daughter's four boys attended Thunderbird Preschool, she or her husband would drop them off and pick them up, Hunter said.

"They liked grandpa to be there because he was always first in line,'' she said.

And when her grandson skateboards with his friends, she brings them ice cream.

"Of course, I'm only checking up to see how they're doing,'' Hunter said.

With most of her 15 grandchildren adults now – the oldest 34 – Hunter said they still find time for grandma.

"My grandkids come over and watch the Bulls games with me,'' she said.

Recently, her 26-year-old grandson, Gregg, and his girlfriend took her to lunch at Finn McCool's to watch a Blackhawks game, she said.

"You get," Hunter said, "more than you give."