Now meet Mr & Mrs Z, also wonderful parents who want the best for their children, but their approach is very different from both the X and Y families.

They’re asking themselves some very different questions about childhood. Like all parents – and everyone involved in childhood in any way, they’re very concerned about the number of young people diagnosed with mental health problems, anxiety, stress, identity disorders, eating disorders, ASD, ADHD and much else. They’re asking what they can do to ensure that their children grow up to be happy and healthy. Is the sort of life the X and Y children, in very different ways, are leading, good for their children’s long-term development, or is it over-scheduled, too stressful and too professionalised? (Spoiler alert: different methods work best for different children.)

They’ve also spoken a lot to their parents, who, like me, grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, where they had much more freedom and independence from an earlier age. Of course there was much that was wrong about childhood in those days, and the world we live in now, two generations on, is very different, but perhaps there are lessons to be learnt.

They’re also thinking about what sort of world their children will live in. It’s likely they’ll be working a 4-day week, or even a 3-day week. Perhaps they’ll be working from home much of the time. Perhaps they’ll be living in a 15 minute city. It’s likely they will have much more spare time than their parents, and joining a hobby club such as a chess club would be, for all sorts of reasons, a great way to spend that spare time.

I have a lot more to say on this subject, but this isn’t the right place. Another website on another day, perhaps.

If Mr & Mrs Z are chess players, they might teach their children when they’re relatively young and, if they’re showing a particular interest and talent, take them along to a professionally run junior chess club. If they’re not chess players, but their children have shown an interest, or they think the game might be right for their children, I’d advise them to read this book, which will enable them to make an informed decision about if and when their children should start playing chess.

Which parents do you most resemble: Mr & Mrs X, who want their children to play chess for fun, Mr & Mrs Y, who want their children to excel at chess from an early age, or Mr & Mrs Z, who see chess as something that might be a worthwhile lifelong hobby?

If you’re the X family, buy this book for your children, because it’s fun and sign them up for a primary school chess club because it’s fun.

If you’re the Y family, you’ll want something like this for your children before signing them up for a professionally run junior chess club.

If you’re the Z family, you’ll perhaps want to play some simple games from here when your children are young. If, when they’re 11 or 12, they want to take the game seriously, buy them this book and sign them up for a Chess Heroes club (if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area).