THEthe October 2 is the day dedicated to custodian angelsbut in Italy this date was chosen to celebrate even those who really are really in everyday life: needless to say that we are talking about grandparents. An army of people who, in addition to representing a fundamental emotional figure, is also a concrete pillar of a family and social system that could no longer do without it. This is why the National Feast of Grandparents is celebrated on 2 October.
Feast of the grandparents: thanks to these guardian angels
Today Italian grandparents are about twelve million, a large discreet group that moves behind the scenes and that holds whole families together every day. According to the most recent surveys, almost a third of them habitually takes care of grandchildren: he accompanies them to school, prepares meals, helps in the tasks, consoles them on difficult days. A commitment that is not episodic but dailyso as to represent in many cases the true “family welfare” of the country.
There are no more the elderly of the past
Moreover, the figure of his grandfather is now far from the fragile and retired image of a few decades ago. In Italy, The life expectancy has reached 83.6 years for women and 81.1 for menbut many of them are only over 65 in good health. This gave birth to a more active, autonomous and present elderly generationcapable of living with fullness even after sixty -five. And, to make the grandparents find new energy, It is precisely the relationship with the grandchildren: according to theSenior Italy Observatory65% of the grandparents involved in the daily care of children show higher levels of psychological well -being than the less involved peers.
Over a third of Italian grandparents takes care of the grandchildren daily, with a concrete impact also on the family budget (Getty Images)
More involved, more active
The emotional proximity, the game, the school support and the shared routine, in fact, not only strengthen the intergenerational bond, But they contribute to maintaining mental lucidity and physical vitality. The Italian demographic context makes this role even more crucial. With one of the lowest birth rate in Europe and an increasingly older population, Each child grows surrounded by multiple adults who take care of it, Often more grandparents than brothers or cousins. It is a privileged relationship, which strengthens the links between generations and transmits traditions, values and family memory.
When they become babysitter or kindergartens
Their role, however, is not only emotional: Censis estimates that over 40% of Italian grandparents regularly deal with grandchildren, generating an annual saving of approximately 8 billion euros for families. In fact, they are an informal care network that supports the social system, often without recognition or protections. Without the help of grandparents, millions of families should resort to babysitterkindergartens or after -school which are often neither accessible nor available. The hours of care offered for free, are an invisible contribution that allows children and daughters to work and maintain an income to hold family budgets. And in some areas of the country, especially in the South, this support becomes decisive, filling the gaps of public and private services.
It is not assistance is much more
In short, grandparents are fundamental both for grandchildren and for their children. And, if the relationship with the former is not only practical help, but an emotional force that contributes to forming identity and characterfor children, however, grandparents are an embankment to fatigue, a silent presence that allows you to reconcile work and care without feeling alone. To strengthen this double role, there is also the fact that the new generation of grandparents, younger and often still active, He manages to better understand his grandchildren and dialogue with them in a contemporary era made of technology, quick changes and new languages.
Feast of the grandparents: October 2 is not just an anniversary
In a country that ages and makes few childrenthe grandparents have become the invisible but load -bearing column on which much of the family life revolves. Because of this grandparents’ feast is not just a symbolic occasionbut it is an invitation to recognize their contribution in all its complexity: Not only custodians of love, but essential social resource. And to remember that without them, the family newspaper may not be so sustainable.