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National Grandparents Day is the first
Sunday after Labor Day, which is September 8th this year. Marion H. McQuade first
championed the idea for this celebration and her descendants created a
nonprofit organization, the National Grandparents Day Council. The organization website states:
"Our goals are to honor grandparents and to strengthen
the bond between grandparents and grandchildren.
Additionally, we strive to draw compassionate attention
to the eldest of society's elderly--those in nursing homes."
How can you celebrate National Grandparents Day? The National Grandparents Day Council has a "Forget-Me-Not" Nursing Home Visitation program. The idea is to visit isolated, homebound elderly people or elderly people who live in a nursing home. According to the Council, "statistics state that as many as sixty percent of nursing home residents NEVER have a visitor."
You can make a big difference in someone's life by visiting and talking with them. You can set up these visits by contacting local nursing home staff or contacting local eldercare programs. You can learn more about the "Forget Me-Not" program here.
President
Jimmy Carter approved the first National Grandparent's Day in 1978. Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau provides statistics about grandparents and their role in society. Here are some highlights of the 2012 statistics (these statistics are from the 2011 American Community Survey):
- 7 million grandparents had grandchildren under the age of 18 living with them.
- 5.5 million children in the U.S. live with a grandparent.
- 2.7 million grandparents are responsible for the basic needs of at least one grandchild.
You can read the whole article here .
National Grandparents Day is the first
Sunday after Labor Day, which is September 9th this year. Marion H. McQuade first
championed the idea for this celebration and her descendants created a
nonprofit organization, the National Grandparents Day Council. The organization website states:
"Our goals are to honor grandparents and to strengthen
the bond between grandparents and grandchildren.
Additionally, we strive to draw compassionate attention
to the eldest of society's elderly--those in nursing homes."
President
Jimmy Carter approved the first National Grandparent's Day in 1978. Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau provides statistics about grandparents and their role in society. Here are some highlights of the 2012 statistics (these statistics are from the 2010 American Community Survey):
- 7 million grandparents had grandchildren under the age of 18 living with them.
- 10% of children in the U.S. live with a grandparent.
- 2.7 million grandparents are responsible for the basic needs of at least one grandchild.
You can read the whole article here.
The MetLife Mature Market Institute recently published a study about grandparents: "The MetLife Report on American Grandparents: New Insights for a New Generation of Grandparents". The data for this study was gathered from the 2010 Census Bureau reports, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys, and the Center for Disease Control.
Highlights of this study include:
- Approximately one in ten households are headed by a grandparent, who has at least one grandchild living with them.
- A majority of grandparents, (54%), are baby boomers, ages 45 to 64.
- There were an estimated 65 million grandparents in the United States in 2010 and it is estimated that this number will climb to 80 million in 2020.
- Grandparent spending on child-specific items (like infant formula and children's clothing) has increased 71% since 1999.
The full report can be downloaded here.
Approximately 10% of the children in Florida are being raised by a relative, such as a grandparent. These full-time caregivers are called "kinship caregivers".The Florida Kinship Center, located on the University of South Florida campus, has many resources to support these caregivers. First of all, the Florida Kinship Center provides a phone information service for the entire state of Florida, which is called the Warmline. The Warmline number is 1-800-640-6444 and this service provides information about support groups, where to find legal help, and information about how to obtain financial help from various agencies, such as Medicaid.
The Florida Kinship Center also provides an online message board, chat, and mailing lists to discuss issues and find online support. In addition, the Florida Kinship Center has an online legal guide - the Kinship Care Legal Handbook - which can help caregivers to learn about legal issues, such as how to obtain custody. Other information available online from Florida Kinship Center includes:
The Area Agency of Aging of Pasco-Pinellas has a Grandparent Caregiver Program which offers legal assistance and a chore service. This agency has contracted with the Family Resources non-profit organization to provide grandparent caregiver support groups. You can call (727)550-4250 for information about these support groups and there is also a web page here.
