Be the grandparent they find 😍
not the one they forget 😢
Build as strong an emotional bond as the "local" grandparents have - no matter HOW many miles separate you
Do you feel you're missing out on your grandchild because you live so far apart?
It can feel like the 'local' family monopolise their love and affection.
You know they don't mean to...
And they're lovely people - you like them.
But, if you're REALLY honest...
You do feel a twinge of jealousy over their bond with your grandchild
You see the photos of fun days out together...
Whilst all you seem to get is the occasional awkward video chat...
And even then, junior wanders off, bored, almost immediately 😖
The video above👆 explains how my wife and I used to be in that exact place...
And how we managed to escape from it
We live a 4 hour journey from our only grandchild and work full time.
But I honestly believe Sophia is just as emotionally bonded with us as she is with the way more physically present "other" grandparents.
What I'm offering you today, is the main reason.
This👆 is a screen capture from the ""hide and seek" video game I built for Sophia.
You're seeing the moment Sophia herself is "found" hiding behind the lamp.
She just happened to be the family member that the game had chosen to hide in a random place when I recorded the clip.
But every close family member I could think of is in the game - including their pet cat.
I know you're concerned about "screen time" 🤔
I'll lay your fears to rest in a moment...
First, let's look at the reasons WHY I built the game.
It's based on (believe it or not) a LOT of research.
After Sophia's 2nd birthday party - where we really felt her preference for the 'local' family - I dove down many rabbit holes in my quest to build a strong emotional connection across a large distance...
My first real breakthrough was when I read about...
IMPRINTING
This is how baby ducks automatically follow familiar faces (waddles? quacks?).
Whatever a young child (of any species) sees and benefits from on a regular basis, it learns to trust.
Decades of research — from Bowlby and Ainsworth to the latest neuroscience — tell us that children form strong emotional bonds when a familiar face...
shows up again and again
responds warmly
becomes part of their everyday world
I'm sure you're aware how difficult these things are to do when you live far apart.
Figuring out a way to show up in Sophia's daily life led me to...
PORTRAIT COLOURING PAGES
I know we haven't mentioned these yet.
But they're included as part of the family "hide & seek" video game.
They were my first way of having Granny and Grandad show up in Sophia's daily play whether we were physically present or not.
As you can see, I transformed facial photos of the 3 of us into colouring pages where we're all doing something we enjoy.
Sophia had only just learned how to hold a crayon.
She's FAR from a master at colouring.
But that doesn't matter.
Because the papers she was (let's be honest) scribbling on all showed Granny and Grandad having fun with her.
She was "imprinting" on us while she played
These "portrait" colouring pages now act as a reward for "finding" 12 family members in a row.
Each successful "find" uncovers another square of the colouring page.
Once the full page is revealed, Mummy or Daddy can print it out.
And she can replay happy memories in a calm, creative environment away from the screen.
Okay...🤔 Colouring pages to a "hide & seek" video game is a bit of a jump 🤨
I'll grant you that 👆
The idea first came to me after a video call where Sophia was playing peek-a-boo with us.
Hide and seek felt like a natural extension of peek-a-boo - both games being based on the thrill of disappearance followed by reappearance.
Our imprinting experiment with colouring pages was going really well and I was keen to take it further.
A "video" game would allow me to incorporate just that - VIDEO.
Sophia would see us MOVING...
And HEAR OUR VOICES
Surely Granny and Grandad...
turning up randomly (when she played the game)
moving around (more alive than still pictures)
talking to her (children imprint on voices too)
...would serve to make us feel even more a normal part of her world.
After all, these are the things that physically present family members do.
We'd just be doing it through a screen.
Ah, yes... Demonic SCREENS 😈
During my research, I'd come across widespread "screens are BAD" feelings among protective mothers.
Whilst the above example is a bit extreme, it's a common and understandable concern.
Obviously, I wanted to believe that "meaningful interaction with family members who love her and she would otherwise simply not see" outranked the whole "screen time" concern.
Our daughter and son-in-law are both PhD scientists who will always be swayed by hard evidence.
So I set out to find some.
Turns out way cleverer people than me have performed experiments PROVING...
ACTIVE screen time is different from PASSIVE screen time
The PASSIVE screen time - mindlessly watching cartoons for example - is what people are referring to when they talk about limiting screen time.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and Oxford University (highly respected establishments) conducted studies showing interactive play - especially when it includes real voices and familiar faces - actually helps children develop:
attention
memory
emotional connection
Children using educational video games were also described by teachers as "remarkably well-behaved" and showed improved classroom dynamics.
Similar themes showed up so often in different research papers that I was convinced - and so was our scientist daughter
Because I know it's an objection you're likely to face when introducing the idea of (shock, horror!) young children playing video games 😱...
I've gathered all the most convincing statistics and results from various academic studies and put them into a PDF for you to give to Mummy and Daddy.
You'll get a copy immediately on making a payment.
These are the same arguments that persuaded 2 PhD scientists that the game would be a brilliant idea for their 2 year old daughter.
If they don't persuade your grandchild's parents gatekeepers to let their child at least TRY the game, I'll create an extra 3 colouring pages featuring you and Little One - and outright gift them to you.
That's just an extra.
Your money is already covered by my "No smile = No pay" guarantee 👌
I can't promise quite as enthusiastic a reaction as you saw from my own granddaughter.
However, if YOUR grandchild doesn't even crack a smile during their first 3 experiences of the game you order today...
I've failed in my task and will happily refund EVERY PENNY of your payment.
AND...
As a thank you for letting me try you can keep the game and colouring pages...
Just in case you have another grandchild - who might enjoy them
So WHAT's the Offer?
It took us a long time to get here.
But I thought it was important for you to hear the full story before asking you to decide.
My offer is fairly simple.
I'll build a "Hide & Seek" video game for YOUR grandchild(ren).
It'll be pretty much the same as Sophia's - except the photos, videos and colouring pages will feature members of YOUR family instead of mine.
Let's look at some details.
Sophia's game has:
12 people & 1 pet cat
6 different scenes
5 different colouring pages
YOUR grandchild's game will have:
As many family members (animal or human) as YOU deem appropriate
6 different scenes (the same as Sophia's)
5 different colouring pages (featuring YOU)
ALL family members included in the game have an equal chance of showing up in any particular scene.
The colouring pages, though, will be combinations of Faraway Grandparents with Grandchild(ren) - basically whoever YOU ask for...
Making sure Little One's creative, thoughtful time is spent with YOU 😉
Your fully personalised game will be delivered as an android app.
I'll also embed it in a secret page of a website only YOU can access - as a backup option.
The full size, ready-to-print versions of your colouring pages will also be available at secret URLs.
The cost for all this?
£147
I'm sure you'll agree that's quite reasonable for building a strong loving bond between yourself and your grandchild.
But I'm also aware that £147 feels like a lot of money to hand over to a stranger.
Even with my "No smile = No pay" guarantee.
So I decided to let you get started for much less.
Today you pay a deposit of:
£20
Obviously, this doesn't buy you the FULL game.
But I can send you ENOUGH that you'll KNOW the game is going to achieve its purpose.
Your stripped down taster game will include:
1 scene
1 person (YOU)
1 generic colouring page
This stripped down game will allow you to see your grandchild's reaction the first time they find YOU.
We both know it's that REACTION that's the deal breaker 😉
You have 30 days to decide, based on that, whether you want to:
cancel the outstanding payment of £127
If you do that, I'll also refund the £20 you already paid and we'll be all square.
Or you can:
allow the scheduled payment to go through
If you do that, I'll contact you about the photos and videos I need to build the full Hide & Seek video game.
Don't worry about those just now, though.
It's really simple and I'll guide you through everything when the time comes 😀
Why Hide & Seek?
Hide & seek is one of the oldest and most universal children’s games, played in every culture for 1000s of years.
Psychologists say it’s powerful because it speaks directly to how young children learn about...
trust
presence
reunion
Babies and toddlers are still discovering that people continue to exist even when they’re out of sight.
Every “found you!” moment teaches them that disappearance doesn’t mean gone forever — a vital emotional lesson for children separated by distance.