Sir, – Kathy Sheridan deals with the public perception of ageism, how "negative stereotyping can make you feel older and will knock several years off your life" and how "most isms start in childhood" ("Covid has exposed the insidious ageism in our society", Opinion & Analysis, January 26th).
The majority of older people are grandparents, and may remember being jokingly called Granny or Grandad when congratulated on the birth of their first grandchild.
The joy of the moment is followed by the jolt of being suddenly pigeonholed into a new age stratum, having a perceived inequality based on age.
As the child begins to grow, new parents begin calling their own parents Grandma or Grandpa, or other such alternatives. Persuading new parents to use Christian names instead would be a positive step in reducing ageist attitudes and calling a grandparent Jane or John would not lessen the strong bond that exists across the generations.
Removing the “grand” label from the name would help in reducing a social stratification based on age and which has been learned from one’s earliest years. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN McLOUGHLIN,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.