Son and Daughter Day is celebrated annually on August 11. This love-centric family holiday (which we’re sure has gained the approval of both Gloria Steinem and Smokey Robinson, as you’ll see) reminds us to take a step back from the whirlwind of paying the bills, surviving the maelstrom of current events, and meeting what seem to be thousands of daily obligations, and spend time with our children.
National Son and Daughter Day is a time to go ahead and spoil the kids a little. Be a grandparent ahead of time for a day, and remind the kids that through all the ascents and descents of mayhem and joy, and however they’ve turned out so far, they’re the greatest loves of your life.
The population at large may already be familiar with similar holidays like Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and Father-Daughter Day, the former instituted in part by the Ms. Foundation for Women and its founder, journalist Gloria Steinem, and the latter the result of an effort on musician Smokey Robinson’s part to stay close to his six daughters no matter what.
But Son and Daughter Day traces its origins a little farther back in time than either of these if popular wisdom is to be trusted. All the way back to 1930s Missouri, where a gentleman of the town of St. Joseph took up a young boy’s cause when the boy complained that his mom and dad each had a “Day,” so why shouldn’t he? The man was convinced and gradually the idea caught on, its popularity ebbing and flowing over the years, until the 1970s.
That brought another big jump: a Florida House member allegedly put in a request to the U.S. Congress to officially recognize National Son and Daughter Day. The Representative, Claude Pepper even had in mind to specially recognize George Paul, a hero of Pepper’s from the old Texas rodeo circuit, by attaching Paul’s name to the holiday, should it become official. Or is that just a bunch of “bull”? Our researchers are unable to pinpoint the exact Congressional record containing the request.
The next reference of National Son and Daughter Day is in the Nanaimo Daily News. The Canadian publication, found in the British Columbia region, referenced the day in 1988. Whatever the origins are, August 11 is a day for spending some quality time with your children. Do something that you all enjoy doing as a family and treasure those moments together.
