"Grandparents are our continuing tie to the near-past, to the events and beliefs and experiences that so strongly affect our lives and the world around us." President Jimmy Carter.

Celebrated in 2010 on September 12th, Grandparents Day is a national holiday. It’s a day set aside to honor, respect, laud and applaud grandparents. Unlike Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, however, Grandparents Day is relatively new.

By official Presidential Proclamation, President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day, noting that the day was designed to recognize "the importance and worth of the 17 million grandparents in our nation." Today, representing one-third of the total population, there are now more than 70 million grandparents in the United States and growing, with 1.7 million new grandparents added to the ranks every year.

Grandparents owe a debt of gratitude to Joseph and Marian McQuade. Grandparents Day was their brainchild and they began lobbying in 1968 for this special day of recognition for the important contributions grandparents make to our families, our communities, and our country.

Marian McQuade, by her own description, was at the time, “just a housewife” in Fayette County, West Virginia with fifteen children. Back then, her primary goal was to champion the cause of the lonely elderly in nursing homes as well as to highlight the value of grandparents’ wisdom and heritage to ensuing generations.

The McQuades crusaded throughout the U.S. to establish the Grandparents Day. Their first major breakthrough came five years later, when after their intense personal lobbying, Governor Arch Moore issued a proclamation on May 27, 1973, making West Virginia the first state with a special Grandparents Day.

It was another five years later, in September of 1978, that President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 96-62, winning unanimous Congressional approval and designating the first Sunday after Labor Day each year as National Grandparents Day.

True to McQuade’s original goal, the statute's preamble cites the purpose of Grandparents Day is: "... to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer."

Beyond the sheer thrill of having grandchildren, today an increasing number of grandparents have actually assumed daily responsibility for their grandchildren. This phenomenon is a win-win situation. Grandparents create special relationships and impart valuable lessons that last a lifetime.

Check out these 2009 Census Fun Facts on grandparents:

• 6.6 million or 9% percent of all children in the United States - the number of children who lived with a grandparent in 2008.

• 2.5 million - the number of grandparents responsible for most of the basic needs (i.e., food, shelter, clothing) of one or more of the grandchildren who lived with them in 2007, representing about 40% of all grandparents whose grandchildren lived with them.

• 1.5 million - the number of grandparents who worked while being responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren.

• 30% of children younger than 5 whose mothers worked outside the home were cared for on a regular basis by one or more grandparents.

• One of the fastest growing demographics in the country is the hoard of Boomers, who are often thought of as more adventurous and willing to explore new territory than our predecessors. Using the Internet is just an extension of that spirit.

• Baby Boomers between the ages of 45 and 64 spend a considerably higher amount of time online than their predecessors - 123 minutes per day, which is the overall average of a typical U.S. adult. And what are they doing online besides shopping? They’re engaging in photography, computer graphics, desktop publishing, and getting news, information, and entertainment updates as well as social networking.

• Boomers hold a disproportionately high amount of wealth per capita. One survey targeting the over 50 market with $50,000 or more in income (the “graying and affluent”) found that their numbers have increased from 17.0 million in 2004 to 22.3 million during the past five years. Along with sheer numbers, so has their buying power. Their Internet spending has increased from 50.2 percent of surveyed households in 2004 to 65.2 percent.

• Consumption habits of aging are also different from those of their predecessors -- they (we) are living longer and achieving higher levels of education, pursuing higher education in droves: Among those age 50 plus, 56.4 percent already have at least one degree; more than 580,000 adults over the age of 65 plan on taking college courses; and 165,000 of those are over age 75.

• Boomer seniors are more active than previous generations - 77% workout at least three days per week. walking and cardiovascular equipment workouts (treadmills, etc.) top the list.

• Passive recreation continues to be in demand for this demographic group, with creative outlets seeing an increase in demand as well as the increasing interest in technology among the demographic.

• Most astounding of all: 66% of grandparents have never celebrated Grandparents Day.

All things being equal, Grandparents Day, which has become an international holiday, is now celebrated in Canada (1995), the UK (1990), and France (grandmothers 1987, grandfathers 2008), and has earned its place in the hearts of all of us.

Hint: Pass this along to your kids – just in case they never heard of the holiday.

SOURCES:
USA.gov
The Mature Market Institute published a Demographic Profile focusing on American’s 65 and older.
Research Brief from the Center for Media Research
Source: Research Brief, Center for Media Research
National Grandparents Day official site

If you liked this article, you may also enjoy:
• Grandparenting 101
• Grandparenting Fun
• Top 10 Lists for Grandparents

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