Grandparents do not need to be app experts to write along. YearChapter lets grandad and grandma add a few sentences from their own perspective, in a way that fits how they already communicate: sometimes through the app, sometimes through you, sometimes as a message you type out. The goal is not for everyone to write equally much, but for their voice to be in the book later.

Why grandad and grandma's voice matters

They see your child differently from you. They recognise things in a laugh, a movement, a look that you cannot place yet. If only you write, the book stays a parents' diary. With grandad and grandma it becomes a family book, generations in one volume.

It is about presence, not volume. One sentence from grandma per month can land as hard later as your longest entry.

Three ways to bring them along

  • Invite and let go: Send the link, explain briefly, no follow-up. No pressure to do something every week. What comes freely lasts longest.
  • You type, they talk: Ask on a visit: what do you want her to know later? Write it down in their words. That counts, even if grandad never types himself.
  • Fixed moments: Sleepover weekend becomes grandad's chapter. Sunday lunch becomes grandma's sentence. Rhythm helps without feeling like work.

If they say: I am not much of a writer

That is fine too. One sentence is enough. "Today she learned to clap." "She smelled of rain and apple juice." No comparison with what you write. No need to explain the whole app first. Start with one concrete question: what did she do today that made you think of yourself as a child?

Practical tips that work

Do not explain the whole system first. Celebrate what they do write. Do not ask why they write less. And make clear that it stays private, no group chat, no likes, no audience.

"My dad typed one sentence per sleepover weekend. By the end of the year he was on twelve pages. That was enough." Tijmen, father of Bo

If grandad is no longer here

Sometimes someone belongs in the book but cannot write anymore. Then you can capture what others tell about him, what you inherited from him, what your daughter should know later. That is a different kind of writing, quieter and gentler. It fits the same book without pretending he is still here.

YearChapter is built for voices that read along. Alive or through memory. One invitation, one sentence, once a month: that is enough for grandad or grandma to read along later in your child's story.