Dear Fathers and Families’ Grandparents:
Along with you, I am proud to say I am one of Fathers and Families’ grandparents. We are among Fathers and Families’ strongest advocates for our children and grandchildren, and we have been at the center of many of our legislative victories.
The best way to honor us on Grandparents Day is to make a gift to Fathers and Families. Ask those who wish to honor you to make a gift, because when your son loses custody of his children, you lose too.
We represent one-third of the population, with 1.7 million new grandparents added to our ranks each year. Grandparents lead 37% of all U.S. households. President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation declaring the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. Carter wrote: 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.
During the hearings on our shared parenting bill in Massachusetts, a pediatrician testified about the importance of grandparents and the extended family to children: Children need to know they have two parents and an extended family that includes paternal grandparents, aunts, and cousins. These relatives have traditionally been excluded and even demonized when Courts automatically determined that children belong with their mothers, with their fathers as occasional visitors.
Ask all who celebrate National Grandparents Day to celebrate it with a gift to the one organization that is advocating for your children”s and grandchildren”s best interests – Fathers and Families. To give, please visit www.FathersandFamilies.org/give.
Together with you in the love of our children and grandchildren,
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
P.S. In an upcoming newsletter, Fathers and Families will print the names of grandparents honored with a gift for National Grandparents Day.