Grandparents Day 2011 Will Be Celebrated on September 11; Census Releases Facts
National groups Website will name national grandparents/patriots of the year; Census Bureau releases facts on grandparents
Sept.
2, 2011 - President Jimmy Carter signed a presidential proclamation in 1978 designating the first Sunday after Labor Day as National
Grandparents Day. The action culminated a campaign started by Marian McQuade in 1970 to have a special day in the U.S. to honor grandparents.
The first official observance was Sept. 9, 1979 and
has been celebrated every year since. In honor of our nation's grandparents, the Census Bureau presents an array of statistics about the role
they play in our lives.
The annual event has not, however, ever gained much popularity. There is an official Website
click
here that comes to life every year. This year, the site has just completed a competition for "National Grandparents/Patriots of the Year"
contest, which the group says is to honor heroes of September 11th. Winners were to be announced on August 26th, 2011 but had not been posted
on September 2.
Here are the facts about U.S. grandparents in 2011, as compiled by
the U.S. Census Bureau
6.7 million
The number of grandparents whose grandchildren younger than 18 lived
with them in 2009. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10050
Grandparents as Caregivers
2.7 million
The number of grandparents responsible for most of the basic needs
(i.e., food, shelter, clothing) of one or more grandchildren who lived with them in 2009. These grandparents represented about 40 percent of
all grandparents whose grandchildren lived with them. Of these caregivers, 1.7 million were grandmothers, and 1 million were grandfathers. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10056
8%
Percentage of grandparents living with grandchildren who were caring for
their grandchildren and whose income was below the poverty level. This represents half a million grandparents. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>
Table B10059
$45,007
Median income for families with grandparent-caregiver householders
and/or spouses. If a parent of the grandchildren was not present, the median dropped to $33,417. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>
Table B10010
1 million
Number of grandparents responsible for caring for their grandchildren
for at least the past five years. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>
Table B10050
1.9 million
The number of grandparent-caregivers who were married. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10057
1.6 million
The number of grandparents who were in the labor force and also
responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10058
700,000
Number of grandparents with a disability who were caring for their
grandchildren. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10052
70%
Among grandparents who were responsible for their grandchildren, the
percentage who lived in an owner-occupied home. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2009 American
Community Survey, <http://factfinder.census.gov/>,
Table B10061
Grandchildren
7.5 million
The number of children living with a grandparent in 2010; these children
comprised 10 percent of all children in the United States. Of these children, 4.9 million lived in the grandparent's home. Source: Families and Living Arrangements:
2010
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2010.html>
Table C4
Among children younger than 5 whose mothers were employed, the
percentage cared for on a regular basis by a grandparent during their mother's working hours in 2005. Source: Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care
Arrangements: Spring 2005/Summer 2006,
<http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p70-121.pdf>
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