National Son’s and Daughter’s Day Date in the current year: August 11, 2024

There are a lot of holidays focused on family bonding such as National Siblings Day, National Sisters Day, National Father Daughter Take a Walk Day, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and many more, so it is not surprising that someone came up with the idea of a holiday that encourage parents to find new ways to bond with their children regardless of their gender.

There is a common misconception that fathers have a stronger bond with their sons and mothers have a stronger bond with their daughters, but it stems from gender stereotypes that can be quite harmful. Parents who don’t believe in the whole “girls must wear pink and play with dolls, and boys must wear blue and play with trucks” thing typically have more fun with their children and are able to form a closer bond with them regardless of their gender because they aren’t hung up on what boys and girls are or aren’t supposed to do.

National Son’s and Daughter’s Day celebrates the special bond parents share with their children and encourages parents to spend more time with their kids. The origins of the holiday are unclear, but there have been several recorded attempts to establish a holiday dedicated to sons and daughters. The first one was made by J. Henry Dusenberry from Missouri. He heard a kid ask why there was no Sons’ and Daughters’ Day and decided to create one.

Dusenberry encouraged parents to put flowers representing their children in a special vase (a flower for each child) and think about their children, especially those who have already moved from their childhood home. The celebration spread throughout Missouri and then beyond. At its peak in the mid-1940s, Sons’ and Daughters’ Day was celebrated in 22 states. However, the holiday started to lose its popularity after that.

The second attempt to establish a Sons’ and Daughters’ Day was made by Congressman Claude Pepper on behalf of Georgia Miers Paul of Del Rio, Texas. His request for the establishment of the holiday suggested that it be observed on the last Sunday of January every year. However, neither the House nor the Senate supported the request.

The first mention of an August 11 observance of National Son’s and Daughter’s Day can be found in the August 12, 1988 issue of the Canadian daily newspaper Nanaimo Daily News. It means that the current iteration of the holiday has been celebrated for more than three and a half decades and may have originated in Canada rather than in the United States.

Be that as it may, National Son’s and Daughter’s Day definitely deserves to be celebrated. You should spend it with your kids doing all kinds of fun stuff together, or with your parents if you have no children of your own. If your children have already moved away, give them a call to remind them that you love them and will always be there for them. And don’t forget to post about the holiday with the hashtags #NationalSonsAndDaughtersDay, #NationalSonAndDaughterDay and #SonsAndDaughtersDay.