Australians Outraged at Schools Renaming Grandparents as ‘Grandfriends’

Amy Parmenter of the Giants embraces her grandmother Kathy after entering the court together before the round eight Super Netball match between GWS Giants and NSW Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena, in Sydney, Australia, on May 8, 2022. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The decision by a growing number of schools in New South Wales (NSW) to rename “Grandparents Day” to “Grandfriends Day” to be more inclusive has upset and disappointed many Australians.

Ian Barnett, the founder of the National Grandparent Movement, said rather than being inclusive, the decision excluded one of the “most significant groups in the family.”

“It’s strange to do it, and I don’t know the reasoning behind it either,” he told Nine’s Today show.

“Grandparents day” is an opportunity for children to invite their grandparents to join them at school and celebrate their contributions and importance.

Many primary schools, including Spring Farm, Concord, Drummoyne, and Newtown, have changed the annual events’ name.

However, by renaming the event, Barnett said the implication was that the next step was for “parents” to become “friends.”

“I can understand maybe they want to make it easier for others to come on board, but even little ones who have lost their grandparents do have others in their life that take on the role of a grandparent,” Barnett said.

“It’s such a significant phrase and concept, and it’s disappointing to actually think that we can no longer use that and we’re changing into something like grandfriends.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet addresses media at Smalls Road Public School in Sydney, Australia, on June 22, 2022. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Move Labelled Ridiculous

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet criticised the move as “ridiculous.”

“We should be acknowledging our grandparents, grandmothers, our grandfathers; they do a wonderful job, particularly now with busy parents, balancing work and family life and juggling kids,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

One Nation MP and chairman of the NSW parliamentary education committee Mark Latham said grandparents of students at Spring Farm Public School had contacted him about their complaints on the name change.

“What exactly is a ‘Grandfriend?’ A term nobody has heard of,” he wrote on a post on Facebook. “Why have grandparents been rubbed out in the new, silly, woke world of Spring Farm Public School near Camden in Sydney?”

Latham said the school was undoubtedly worried about offending “someone” unspecified, which was “totally unwarranted.”

“Parents and grandparents at the school have complained, and I don’t blame them,” he said. “It’s an insult to grandparents and the wonderful love and support they provide.”