Grandparents Day 2003

September 7th 2003, is Grandparent’s Day. Grandparents can play an important role in children’s lives. The pressures of parental authority and responsibility are usually lessened for the grandparent, and the emotional rewards and closeness can be as great as or greater than the bond between a child and his or her parents.

Because of increase longevity and improved health, grandparents are participating now more in the lives of their grandchildren than in the past.

Following are some tips and suggestions for those wishing to observe this special day and also extend their efforts into a year round observance:


• Grandparents are often family historians. Children can learn about family history, traditional ways of doing things and family customs by beginning an oral history with their grandparents. Setting up a time for the grandchild to “interview” his/her grandparents can provide a time for the grandparent to share exciting stories from the families past. A list of oral history questions to help the grandchild start the interviewing project can be found at www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm for those individuals having access to the internet.

• Begin a grandparent/grandchild reading program. Pick out books that have common interest to both generations and begin reading to each other (the fun can go both ways) in person or by audio/video tape. Also, many phone plans have very low or even unlimited usage rates on the weekends.

• The grandparent/grandchild relationship is a magical connection. Grandparents have a unique opportunity to provide a sounding board and an emotional support system for the grandchildren that the parents may be unwilling or unable to provide. The grandparent, can be a good listener and provide a sympathetic ear when a child needs to get something “off his or her chest.”

• Children and great-grandchildren can be a very special source of enjoyment for the older individuals in a nursing home or other long-term care setting. This “gift of time” can include visitation or an offer to run errors, write letters, play a board game, or simply watch television together.

Let Grandparent’s Day become the beginning of a loving spirit that lives within the grandchild throughout the year and the basis for a bonding that will last forever between the grandchild and grandparent.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2003