Weekend Family: How Grandparents Can Help Their Grandchildren Learn To Speak

Almost two thirds of all grandparents regularly look after their grandchildren. The rise in single working parents, both parents in the family having to work, and the cost of childcare has led to an increase in the number of children being cared for by their grandparents — a figure which now stands at a staggering 82%*.

Looking after young children for such an extensive amount of time during their formative years can be a real pleasure, but it’s also a huge responsibility. Grandparents need to not only think up ways of keeping grandchildren entertained, but also how they can help them with their development.

Trips out, time spent together doing crafts and baking, and playing sports are all great ways of teaching children valuable life skills while making happy memories. Another way in which grandparents can aid their grandchildren is by helping to develop their speaking skills. But doesn’t this require educational expertise and tonnes of patience?

Not necessarily. Mum and dad authors Mariusz and Aneta Wojcik have recently released their new, colour-illustrated book DeeDee and DanDan’s Busy Day, which they designed specifically to teach parents and grandparents how to read to children in a new and novel way — a way that is fun for the adult too!

The couple, who have two young sons, realised that making a story interactive and engaging for a child assists them with new word retention and, in turn, with speaking skills.

“When helping our sons with speech development, we realised there is a gap in the market for a book which teaches parents and grandparents all they need to help aid the child’s development,” explains Aneta. “So we decided to write one ourselves!”

DeeDee and DanDan’s Busy Day is based on science and shows a parent or grandparent how to read a book to their child or grandchild to boost their speech development. No two reads are the same as the story has thousands of possibilities, keeping each read-through fresh and interesting.

Mariusz says: “We wrote the book so we could share with other caregivers everything we had learned when teaching our own children to talk. Reading with a child or grandchild is very special together time when you can cuddle up with a favourite book and enter an imaginary world. DeeDee and DanDan’s Busy Day is entertaining and immersive, meaning the child doesn’t even notice they’re learning. As far as they’re concerned, they’re just busy having fun!”

DeeDee and DanDan’s Busy Day is priced at £9.99 and is available from Amazon and https://deedeeanddandan.co.uk/.