Welcome to grandparenting school

When Dr Jane Williams was a young mum of two, she had her hands full. In addition to raising her kids she worked as a paediatric nurse, later taking on a role of research and communications manager for GymbaROO, an Australian-born but now worldwide program which helps parents and children master each early stage of development. “We used to get one or two grandparents a week,” she tells . “Now we get two or three per class. More and more grandparents are becoming actively involved in their grandchildren’s lives. Childcare is more expensive, mortgages are bigger and so anything that grandparents can do to help is very welcome. Plus, grandparents are a lot fitter and healthier than they were in the old days, and more able to give some energetic attention to their grandchildren. The only people I see sitting back in rocking chairs are people like my own dad who is 95!”