What do your grandchildren call you? Do they use traditional secular names, like “grandma” or “pops?” Or did your grandchildren come up with creative names? How much do you identify with your grandparent “title?”
In a recent New York Times article, “Who Are You Calling Grandma?” reporter, Alexandra Zissu highlights a growing trend among the emerging Baby-Boomer grandparent demographic: the antipathy toward the names “grandma” and “grandpa.” As Goldie Hawn explained regarding her unfavorable opinion of the word “grandmother,” “it has so many connotations of old age and decrepitude!” Her grandson instead calls her Glam-ma!
The Grandparents Circle Blog has highlighted this article because transitioning into grandparenthood can be difficult whether you have grandchildren in interfaith homes or not. Sometimes your grandparent “name” can make a big difference in your attitude toward your new role. What do your grandchildren being raised in interfaith homes call you? If you have grandchildren raised in Jewish homes, do they call you by a different name? Should it make a difference?
in Interfaith Family.com
A few years ago, the Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore received a grant to start a Grandparents Circle, for people whose children were intermarried and whose grandchildren weren’t necessarily being raised Jewish…
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in The Jewish Exponent
“Randee Tecklin attended each of the christening ceremonies for her three grandchildren and has since watched as they’ve celebrated Christmas and Easter year in and year out. This Friday, she’s taking them to a Chanukah party, but navigating the holidays with family — her daughter-in-law isn’t Jewish — has always been fraught with difficulty…”
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in Westchester.com
“Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) will host a series of conversation groups, ‘The Grandparent Circle,’ for Jewish grandparents whose adult children have intermarried…”
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in Dayton Daily News
“A study of young adults who grew up in interfaith families by the Jewish Outreach Institute found that many of them considered their grandparents to be important role models and connectors to their religious and ethnic heritage…”
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in J.
“‘Grandparents aren’t sure how they can influence their grandchildren’s Jewish identity,’ said Rebecca Gross, national coordinator of the Grandparents Circle, a program of the Jewish Outreach Institute. The program was founded two years ago to ‘give participants tools, techniques and hands-on resources’ to deal with the issue…”
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in The Jewish Voice
“Dory Zatuchni, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service concurred, ‘As a parent of two intermarried children, I understand the need and importance of the Grandparents Circle and I am pleased to be the facilitator here in Delaware…’”
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in The Jewish Press
“‘People expressed a need for help, and I witnessed it myself in my travels across North America as we work with families and commnities facing the challenge of interfaith marriage,’ pointed out Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, executive director of the Jewish Outreach Insitute…”
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in The Dayton Jewish Observer
“After native Clevelanders Cheryl and Franklin Lewis retired from their jobs, they moved to Dayton in 2004 to be close to their daughter and her family. Their son-in-law isn’t Jewish and their four local grandchildren aren’t being raised as Jews…”
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in MidHudson News
“The teachings of one of America’s most recognized Jewish organizations will be coming to the Pleasantville Community Synagogue next month when an outreach grandparent’s program begins a six week program…”
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