Foreword<br >The chances are that for most new grandparents， it has been<br >some twenty years at least since they last handled a baby，<br >looked after a toddler， or played regularly with a small<br >child. That s why The Grandparents Handbook was<br >conceived， not only to provide an invaluable revision course<br >in infant care， but also to offer suggestions as to games，<br >meals， outings， and treats to be enjoyed with the new<br >generation. For the grandparent does indeed have an<br >all-important role to play within the family circle.<br > Dr. Hugh Joll~ the eminent British pediatrician， whose<br >books on child care have guided so many parents over the<br >years， has contributed a major section to The Grandparents <br >Handbook. In it， he explores the nature of the grandparent<br >- grandchild relationship， explains various new<br >developments in child care theory (while debunking some<br >old wives tales)， and takes the reader through the basic<br >principles of such everyday essentials as feeding， carrying，<br >bathing， and changing.<br > Other sections are devoted to a wise choice of toys for<br >the growing child， how best to look after your grandchild<br >when he is sick， making a family tree， and first aid and<br >safety in the home. Learn something， too， from The<br >Grandparent Game on pages 78-79. This has been designed<br >as an instructive entertainment in its own right. You are<br >bound to make a few mistakes in the game ; most<br >grandparents will. What is important is to benefit from<br >experience， to foresee potential problem areas， and to learn<br >how to cope with family frictions， should they arise.<br > Throughout The Grandparents Handbook you will find<br >that our contributors refer in the main to the grandchild as<br > he . This， the publishers would like to emphasize， has<br >merely been chosen as a convenient pronoun.<br > Congratulations on becoming a grandparent? It is a<br >natural role but one that inevitably requires some working<br >at. The publishers hope that grandmothers and grandfathers<br >will find many useful hints on the pages that follow.<br >