Grand Stories – Judith

by Judith Shalkowski
•
10 Oct, 2020
•

In this blog Judith discusses what today’s UK grandparent looks like.

Judith’s Grand Story

You see me out there, don’t you? Pushing the pram, at the school gate, and taking up new courses. There are over 14 million of us in the UK. Many are of us are taking on more responsibilities in the lives of our families. We have realised that one of the greatest opportunities we have for enriching our lives and those of our families is to get up to speed with modern ideas and help our grandchildren even more.

When I was a young child, I often visited my grandma across town. We baked delicious cookies together, explored the flower garden, and went shopping for secret gifts for my parents. She offered an important relationship that brought a special level of wisdom and love to our family.

As a grandparent today, I have a similar role, and yet there is so much more. I listen to my granddaughter, contributing to her emotional growth. I play games with her, encouraging her creativity. I pass on my stories, showing her what it is to be resilient. I share what I have learned and watch her get excited with new knowledge. I have realised that I have the power to bring more empathy, understanding, love and attachment to my grandchild’s life.

Many grandparents not only provide their family with emotional support, but often financial and practical help too. They are giving the gift of hours of their day, filling a gap in childcare as parents return to work. But what does that mean for the developing child, whose earliest years are proven to be the most important?

What if grandparents understood more about what their adult children are discovering – the amazing information on brain development and the importance of emotional connections? What if they could gain new practical skills and tools to help when they are ‘helping out’? What if their applied knowledge meant a more resilient adult grandchild would thrive in this fast-paced modern world? What could make us prouder?

I am pleased that my grandchild can bake, but also that I can still contribute to some of the most important attributes that can result in a more capable adult. I am excited about the new developments in our shared world, and the connections and benefits it will bring to my family relationships and across our generations.

We are beyond excited that we can bring Older Yet Wiser workshops to Better Start Bradford grandparents. We will be sharing up-to-date information on our fascinating brains, emotional balance, the power of play, the world of communication, problem solving tools, and building resilience.

Older Yet Wiser – it’s a place where we together explore how grandparents can be even wiser for their grandchildren.

About Older Yet Wiser

The Older Yet Wiser workshops are developed and delivered by ChildsSide and are funded through Better Start Bradford’s Innovation Fund programme.

The six-week two-hour sessions help grandparents understand what they can do to make a greater impact on a grandchild’s life and enable them to contribute to their social and emotional wellbeing. The coursework and group activities give the tools that enhance your relationship, whilst sharing up-to-date knowledge on giving children the best start in life.

A free educational gift is given after every session including puppets, bubbles, play dough, art materials, and instruments.

Older Yet Wiser workshops will be starting early 2021.

In the meantime you can hear more from ChildsSide during Baby Week Bradford because they are delivering a Childhood Transition Tips for Grandparents Webinar on Thursday 12 November 2020 10:00am to 12:00noon.

More information about Baby Week can be found at www.babyweekbradford.org.

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Grandparents and Older Yet Wiser - Maryiam

by Better Start Bradford • 3 October 2020

Maryiam’s Grand Story

Hello my name is Maryiam Ahmad. I’m mum to four wonderful children aged 26, 24, 18 and 17 years old. I am also grandma to three grandsons aged six, four, three, and my granddaughter, Sorayah who is two.

I regularly look after my grandchildren, while my daughter is working or simply because I love spending time with them and it gives her a break. I know what it is like to be a mum of very young children and how important it is for her to have some ‘me time’.

I find working in the local community so rewarding as you get to meet so many parents from different backgrounds and places. You get to build up relationships with the parents, grandparents and carers and you also see the children grow up.

I jumped at the chance to meet other grandparents

When the opportunity came up to take part in the Older Yet Wiser pilot workshops , I jumped at the chance to be able to meet other grandparents.

The course was so interesting. In the first week we learned about the structure and development of a child’s brain. I learned how important the first few years of development are on the growing brain and was quite shocked at the massive impact outside factors have on baby’s brains.

Each week, we got an educational gift to try out with our grandchildren

Each week of the course we got an educational gift that we could try out with our grandchildren. I especially loved the puppets as they were great fun and I could talk through them with my grandchildren. I actually found out that my grandson was worried about another child at nursery through chatting with him using the puppets. It is such a good way to connect and have conversations with your grandchildren.

We learnt about the importance of child-led play

We also learnt about the importance of playing with our grandchildren and in particular child-led play where you let your grandchild choose how and what they want to play with you.

Judith Shalkowski and Liz Ranson , who run Older Yet Wiser were absolutely amazing. They really know what they are talking about when it comes to grandparenting and as a group we really bonded well together. You think you know everything as a grandparent, but you really don’t. I wish I had known how important play was when my children were growing up.