Grandpa helps young people put best foot forward in new children’s book
A recently published book for young people written by podiatrist Jonathan Brocklehurst aims to raise awareness about the importance of looking after your feet throughout life.
A new children’s book takes an unusual approach to raising awareness about foot complications related to diabetes.
With new diagnoses of diabetes continuing to rise globally, many people are unaware of additional complications, that can impact other areas of health care – including feet.
As such, many foot-related complications linked to diabetes could be preventable.
One way to improve awareness, is through education – a challenge explored by podiatrist Jonathan Brocklehurst in his new book, Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes?
Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? celebrates the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren while encouraging families to think differently about the importance of healthy feet.
From his experience as a podiatrist, Jonathan understands how teaching children about foot care from an early age can help build lifelong healthy habits and encourage conversations across generations – especially with older relatives who may be living with diabetes.
Jonathan said: “Many people do not realise that diabetes can have a profound impact on foot health. Simple daily foot checks, wearing appropriate footwear and seeking help early when something is not right can make an enormous difference. If a children’s story encourages even one family to have that conversation with a grandparent, it has achieved something worthwhile.”
Diabetes-related foot complications develop as a result of raised blood glucose levels over time and are of two main types. Ischaemia happens when small blood vessels in the feet become partially blocked leading to reduced blood supply to the feet. Diabetic neuropathy happens in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and is the commonest cause of loss of feeling in the leg (source DRWF diabetes information resource Foot health and diabetes).
Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? uses warmth, humour and curiosity to introduce children to the idea that our feet deserve care throughout life. The story encourages empathy, intergenerational learning and an appreciation of the role our feet play in keeping us active, independent and connected with those we love.
Jonathan added: “Diabetes can reduce sensation and circulation in the feet, making injuries harder to notice and slower to heal. Regular foot care and prompt attention to changes are important parts of diabetes management and can help reduce the risk of serious complications. Yet awareness of these issues is often limited outside healthcare settings.”
In his foreword for the book, Alan Borthwick OBE, Emeritus Professor at University of Southampton, said: “This short book recounts a charming and illuminating story of Lily and her grandfather, centred on a search for the most appropriate shoes for him to wear on each part of their journey together. It explores the affectionate interaction between the two, each at very different stages of life, in which shoes form a focus for Lily’s curiosity, helping her to learn a little of her Grandpa’s foot problems. It conveys a mutual tenderness between the two, while relaying an important healthcare message about the importance of footwear in good footcare.”
Reader prize draw
DRWF has two copies of the book kindly donated by the publisher to giveaway. To enter, please email your name and address with the title Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? book competition to newsletter@drwf.org.uk. Winner will be selected at random.
Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? by Jonathan Brocklehurst published by Maple Publishers is available now from all good bookshops
For more information about the book click here
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