Moving Parents

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Greetings! I wanted to take a moment to welcome back loyal readers of my blog, where I note newsworthy topics relating to the subject of aging parents and the “sandwich generation” taking care of them today. I am looking forward to my renewed blogging schedule, so please keep checking back (or sign up for my RSS feed on my Home page) for updated posts.

It takes a village: an alternative to assisted living?
Continue reading “It Takes a Village” »

How to put the Jingle back in your Holiday Bells: Advice for Stressed-out Caregivers this Holiday Season

According to a poll on AgingCare.com, an online community for folks who are caring for their aging parents, the pressures of the holiday season reap more stress on this particular category of people from Thanksgiving through the New Year holiday than at any other time during the year. The results of this poll are downright scary: Continue reading “How to put the Jingle back in your Holiday Bells” »

According to statistics, two distinct populations are responsible for most car crashes in the United States: teenage drivers and the elderly.  The elderly are far more likely to suffer or cause fatalities in these accidents (at the rate of 60-70 percent more), due to the physical side effects of aging.  These physical side effects include hearing loss, vision loss and impairment, as well as slower reaction times and dexterity due to medications, chronic illness and/or the natural process of growing older. Make no mistake; these issues will impact a person’s driving skills. The question is: “When?”

Continue reading “Taking Away the Keys: 10 Signs that it’s time” »

Among the nearly 75 million elderly in the U.S. today, more than 70 percent wish to remain in their own homes as they age, according to a study by AARP. And why wouldn’t they? For most seniors, their homes have been a place of joy and comfort for many decades. It’s where children were raised, family dinners were served, holidays and special occasions were celebrated. Their homes are where they and their cherished possessions reside; their homes are where they wish to remain steadfastly until the end of their lives.

Continue reading “Aging in Place” »

The Boomerang Generation — otherwise known as adult children who move back in with mom and dad due to the hardships of today’s economy. Typically these boomerangs are 20-somethings who are facing financial and career challenges, but with the economic downturn of the past few years, adult children of all ages have been looking to mom and dad for a place to live.

But what happens when it’s the aging parents who need their adult child to move back home in order to assist with household and self-care duties? This “new” trend is quietly building. In days gone by and especially in other cultures, extended families sharing one home has been quite common place. Only in the past several decades of excess wealth, available real estate and affordable housing has it become de rigor for couples and their own children to live separately.

Continue reading “Moving (Back) in with Mom and Dad: Sometimes, you can go home again!” »

As a member of the “sandwich generation,” or those adults caring for their own families while struggling to help care for their aging parents at the same time, you may be coming to terms with the fact that your mother or father has become more gloomy with age.

This is normal, right?

Wrong.

Continue reading “Depression in the elderly” »

Elder abuse. Even typing these words causes me pain, but it’s an important topic that has thankfully been brought to light in recent days.

This week, actor Mickey Rooney testified before Congress and the Senate Special Committee on Aging about his experiences as an abused elder and urged them to pass legislation specifically addressing this dark issue.

Continue reading “Elder Abuse” »

One of the most daunting tasks a senior can face is undertaking the renewal of their social life. Perhaps he or she has been moved to a group home and the task is now mandatory, or maybe an adult offspring has managed to convince their aging parent that they need to get out and mingle more with others. Maybe the senior has recently lost a spouse and is seeking other senior citizens for peer conversation, or perhaps the senior realizes that he or she is lonely for one-on-one time.

Continue reading “Helping Your Parents Rebuild Their Social Life” »

I recently received an email from a reader who was wondering if she should be alarmed by the unkempt state of her parents’ home. I told her that the key to understanding and eradicating this issue was to figure out the underlying cause of the breakdown in her parents’ day-today functioning, and then to take the appropriate action. This got me to thinking about other signs that signify an elderly person may be facing a crisis:

Continue reading “Nine Signs Your Aging Parent Needs Extra Help” »