Grandparents’ Day recognizes increasingly critical social role

National Grandparents’ Day is observed every year on the second Sunday of September. This year it fell on September 8. It’s becoming more significant due to the large demographic in that age group, and because of societal changes.

Grandparents’ Day is observed in many countries around the world.

First introduced in Poland in 1965, it was established in Canada in 1995, when Sarkis Assadourian, MP for Don Valley North, successfully introduced a motion respecting the creation of a National Grandparent’s Day, “to acknowledge their importance to the structure of the family in the nurturing, upbringing, and education of children.”

Unpaid caregivers

Many aren’t familiar with this holiday. It’s not as big as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or even Valentine’s Day, but it’s as important; it’s steeped in love and duty. There’s that funny saying that grandparents and grandchildren have a common enemy – the parents! Grandparents are notorious for spoiling their grandchildren, giving them things they’re not allowed to have at home, and then handing them back to the parents to deal with. Grandparents can also account for a generous helping of unpaid (but not underappreciated) caregiving.

My paternal grandfather was a medical doctor in a small southern Ontario town at a time, as my father used to say, when doctors had all the power and all the money; probably no longer true. We saw our paternal grandparents in the summer at large family gatherings, and at Christmas. Our grandfather was an amazing role model who piqued an interest in medicine, as  one of my brothers became a doctor.

My grandfather on my mother’s side lived out west, in Winnipeg, and Victoria, so these grandparent meetings were less frequent. He was an engineer and a fine athlete and could hit a baseball to any corner of the park he wished.

My bright mother finished high school at 16, and initially went to the University of Manitoba, thinking of engineering. She  transferred to the University of Toronto, where she met a young dentistry student, my father, and I suppose that dream changed.

Indirect influencers

The dream never dies, though. That dream was eventually taken up by another of my brothers. Not only did he become an engineer, he also inherited his grandfather’s athletic abilities, and his son is  an engineer too.

The indirect influence of grandparents works in mysterious ways. Our family is into our fifth consecutive university-educated generation.

The importance and effect of grandparents, indirectly or directly, can be far-reaching and shouldn’t be underestimated. Today, with both parents working, grandparents’ duties and relationships are a little more complicated and necessitate a more ‘hands-on’ exercise. . Grandparents now take on additional duties, normally done by parents. Some even act as surrogate parents, chauffeuring their grandchildren to school and other activities. Not only do grandparents help with parental duties, but in uncertain economic times, they may even help financially.  

Wisdom is their wealth

Never write off the grandparents; what gives them an advantage is their wisdom; they’ve been through all this before.

Grandparents are the foundation upon which families are built and their impact can echo for generations.

Grandparents’ Day is important. It may not be well known but should nonetheless be sincerely observed. Akin to all the ancestral and festive days, Grandparents’ Day should probably be celebrated all year long, not just for a day; their influence is felt all year round.

They don’t call them ‘grand’ for nothing, you know!

Douglas Cornnish is the Manor Park Chronicle‘s resident essayist.