Civitas launches a project that supports the role of grandparents, featuring videos hosted by Maya Angelou and Don Francisco (Spanish version)

Chicago, IL (November 27, 2001) — At a time when adults and children alike are frightened by the world's state of affairs, it is imperative that children be reassured of their safety and well-being. Regardless of our fear, America's children need stability, support, and understanding from family and caregivers. With over fifty percent of women working out of the home, and 4.5 million children under the age of 18 living in households with their grandparents — a 30% increase in the last ten years — we must rely on grandparents to help provide this stability and reassurance to our young.

Because grandparents need support, information and guidance to play this important role for the sake of our children's emotional and social well-being, Civitas, a non-profit communications group that creates educational tools for parents, caregivers and other adults responsible for young children, has created a new initiative targeting grandparents. Grandparenting: Enriching Lives was made possible with the generous support of McCormick Tribune Foundation, Allstate Financial, The Allstate Foundation and AARP. It features a centerpiece video hosted by Maya Angelou in English and Don Francisco in Spanish.

Maya Angelou is a wonderful host and role model for the Grandparenting: Enriching Lives project. She is both a grandmother and a great-grandmother, and has referred to the influence of her own grandmother in her success as an author, actor, singer, producer, director, civil-rights activist and mentor. Yet, when defining her own legacy, Angelou says: "I would love to be loved and appreciated by my descendants as I appreciated my own grandmother. I can think of nothing better." Angelou believes that "grandparents are more necessary today probably than they have been in the last 100 years. Young people have to have a sense of foundation and grandparents can provide the roots."

Based on the latest research, Grandparenting highlights the countless benefits of a strong grandparent-parent-child connection, and illustrates five guidelines for how to make the most of those relationships. Guidelines include:

• Create a role that works for you and supports your family needs
• Help build your grandchild's sense of self and family
• Find new and innovative ways to be involved and interact with your grandchild
• Keep up to date on the latest child development research
• Respect your adult child's parenting style

Because of this central role grandparents play in the lives of young children, and because parents consider their own parents the most reliable source of information on raising children, it is essential to provide grandparents with the latest research regarding the welfare of children.

Allan Zullo, grandfather and author of the book on Grandparenting: The Nanas and the Papas states that "child-rearing has changed so much since we raised our kids. Don't put the baby on her tummy for a nap, put her on her back; toss out the baby aspirin, and use baby ibuprofen instead. Grandparents need to read what the parents-to-be are reading about child-rearing and they should discuss with their adult children their expectations and roles to avoid conflict and promote understanding."

Grandparenting: Enriching Lives is a follow up to Civitas' Begin with Love line, which includes a video hosted by Oprah Winfrey that was distributed for free last year to more than 3.8 million new parents. This new product line will be distributed and marketed to millions of grandparents of children through the age of six.

According to Suzanne Muchin, CEO of Civitas: "What we learned from Begin with Love is that communications tools can lead to behavior change. Because grandparents are so influential on their children and grandchildren, it is essential that we provide them with the best possible information on child development. We also believe strongly that the best way to communicate this information is to let grandparents speak for themselves. Our Grandparenting project does this in a unique and compelling way."

Richard A. Behrenhausen, President of McCormick Tribune Foundation adds that "In a changing society, there is nothing more stable than the loving relationship that grandparents have with their grandchildren. We now know that this love connection, between grandparents and grandchildren, helps young children grow into healthy and successful adults. This video offers valuable new information about child development, relationship with parenting adult children, and validates the critical role of grandparents today."

In order to appeal to both parents and grandparents, this video uses real life grandparents who tell their story and share their experiences with their adult children and grandchildren.

"Allstate has a longstanding history of supporting programs that foster safe and nurturing communities for children and their families," said Tom Wilson, president of Allstate Financial and trustee of The Allstate Foundation. He added that "In five years, nearly half of American grandparents will be baby boomers heading towards retirement. Yet, many grandparents raising their grandchildren have not planned for this critical life stage. As supporters of the Grandparenting project, we hope to make a difference in the lives of grandparents and their grandchildren so they can have a secure future."

As the head of an organization with millions of grandparents who are members, Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP describes grandparenting as "one of life's most important and rewarding experiences. This video is an excellent source for up-to-date information on new parenting approaches by sharing interests and family history, building relationships with grandchildren and helping them grow. Whether you are a grandparent today or will be one in the future, watch this video and share it with your family."

Grandparenting: Enriching Lives can be purchased by logging on to www.civitas.org or by calling 1-800-TO-BEGIN.