Jane Williams and Tessa Grigg, Grandparenting Grandchildren, Exisle Publishing, August 2021, 240 pp., RRP $32.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781925820799
I’m loving grandparenting my grandkids, a little 4-month-old and a toddler. So Grandparenting grandchildren written by Dr Jane Williams and Dr Tessa Grigg and with lovely black and white drawings of kids and grandparents, by Tom Kerr, is a very relevant title for me to review.
Unusually for Reading Time, it is a book for adults – basically a child rearing guide, but addressed specifically to grandparents who are actively engaged in raising pre-schoolers. It covers all the hot topics that I am now reliving since my parenting days – behaviour and discipline, eating and nutrition, sleep and healthy physical and cognitive development. There’s also an important chapter on useful and sensible gift giving for grandparents (like me) who are easily tempted to buy for the kids.
With a lot of technical and academic detail about new neuro-science child development research, there is a lot to absorb in this book. Nonetheless, I’m pleased to now be better informed about kids’ gut health, possible causes of sleep problems and the factors that impact behaviour. It’s also affirming to read how valuable grandparents are in a young child’s life, especially in the light of recent research findings that early childhood experiences significantly impact life outcomes. At the end of each chapter there are summaries that help to consolidate the detailed research explanations. I especially like the book’s practical ideas for developmentally enriching play with the grandkids.
I’ll be re-visiting this book again and again, as we face new hurdles with our grandkids, or need to adapt our play to their next stage of development.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
