More Thoughts About Entering the Kingdom of Great Granddaddying
- Allan Shedlin
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Allan Shedlin
Soon-to-be Great Grampsy and Founder, Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)
Adding a generation to a family is significant. World-changing, you might say. Perhaps, then, it’s no wonder that I've had myriad recurring thoughts about becoming a great Granddad.
As much as I'd like to write this blog post as a cohesive narrative, that's not how my great granddaddying thoughts come to me. So, I'll share them here as a series of connected, yet somewhat random, pieces:
Thinking back to my elementary and high school years, when I heard about somebody being a great grandparent, I imagined that person as being very elderly. Happily, that’s not how I feel now. But thoughts of becoming a great grandparent have me more seriously embracing the role of "elder."
I feel a sense of pride that my grandson is excited about the opportunity of becoming a daddy. I know that pride is based on the fact he’s been fortunate to have excellent role models in his father and grandfathers.
It has been heartening to witness the genuine sense of excitement about and support that's come from our extended family.
There are many explanations for the rapidly declining global fertility rates. We’re living during a time in which 71 percent of the global population lives in countries below replacement fertility. Many who have decided not to have children, or to have fewer than they might want, say they are reluctant to bring children into our increasingly bellicose and belligerent world.
When I was 7 months old, the US entered WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared it "a date that will live in infamy." Of course, I was too young to have any clue what was going on during the insanity of a world at war. Less than four years later, in an undelivered speech, Roosevelt wrote, "More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars." Alas, that hopeful sentiment seems increasingly naïve and out of reach 80 years later. People are often hesitant to bring new life into a world that seems unsafe and in which the future doesn't seem promising. So, the news of my grandson and his partner wanting to bring new life into such a "FUBAR" world seems like a joyful act of resistance.
I am lifted by the thought of our family literally planting another seed of hope. Great Granddaddy on.
Daddying Film Festival & Forum 2027
June 21, 2026
Save the Dates: The 6th annual, virtual Daddying Film Festival will take place on Eventive, January 11-20, 2027, and our LIVE Daddying Film Forum will screen Atticus Award winners and finalists, January 29-30, 2027! Start planning your submissions now for the D3F 2027 Call for Entries, which opens this Fathers' Day, June 21st. More D3F news to come!
Allan Shedlin has devoted his life's work to improving the odds for children and families. He has three daughters, five grandchildren, a great grandchild on the way, and numerous "bonus" sons, daughters, and grandchildren. Trained as an educator, Allan has alternated between classroom service, school leadership, parenting coaching, policy development, and advising at the local, state, and national levels. After eight years as an elementary school principal, Allan founded and headed the National Elementary School Center. He has written about education and parenting for major news outlets and trade publications, as well as appearing on radio and TV. In 2008, he was the first male honored as a "Living Treasure" by Mothering Magazine and founded REEL Fathers. In 2010, he advised the Obama White House on Dad engagement and fatherhood policy. In 2017, he founded the DADvocacy Consulting Group. In 2018, he launched the DADDY Wishes Fund and Daddy Appleseed Fund. In 2019, he co-created and co-facilitated the Armor Down/Daddy Up! and Mommy Up! programs for veterans and their children. He has conducted daddying workshops with Native American pueblos, veterans’ groups, penitentiaries, Head Start centers, corporate boardrooms, and elementary schools. In 2022, Allan founded and directed the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F). In 2024, he was named to Who’s Who. In 2025, Allan was honored with an "Official Citation" from the Maryland State General Assembly "In Recognition for All You Do for Dads, Granddads, and Kids of All Ages." He also was named 2025 “Father of the Year” by the Fathers & Families Coalition of America. Allan earned his elementary and high school diplomas from NYC’s Ethical Culture Schools, BA at Colgate University, MA at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and an ABD at Fordham University. He considers his D-A-D and GRAND D-A-D the most important “degrees” of all.
