Aging Parents: To Do or Not to Do?
If you are providing minimal aging parent support, but still find yourself in ongoing muddles about whether or not to offer help — or even just take over with a task — check out Paula Span’s NY Times New Old Age blog post today, When to Back Off. Span deftly sums up the adult child’s quandary — the continuous inner conversation about what to do and what not to do. How do we decide when to intervene?
For me this is the hardest part of navigating the pathways and alleys of my adult daughter role, and many times it’s way too personal to write about on this blog.
Be sure to keep up with Spann’s series describing her father Murray’s transition after moving to live closer to his daughter in an independent living apartment. Read the first in the series.
Cultural Changes Wrought By Aging in the ‘Burbs
According to a Washington Post story, If Baby Boomers Stay in Suburbia, Analysts Predict Cultural Shift, the suburbs are already experiencing a huge cultural transition as their populations age. Many locations are already making substantial program and infrastructure changes as they prepare for what will be a wave of graying residents (sometimes referred to as a gray tsunami).
The June 28, 2011 article, by Carol Morello, features an eye-opening graph depicting, by location, the increasing numbers of over-65 residents. Most communities, the article points out, are behind in addressing the issues that result from the increasing numbers of seniors.
Aging: Ford Makes Font Size Modifications on Dashboards
Ford Motors, surely anticipating aging boomers and wanting to make Ford automobiles as attractive as possible to everyone, has decided to increase the font size on interior display screens. Read, the SmartMoney.com article, Ford to Boomers: Can You Read This Now? The article, by Catey Hill, points out that initially the company is changing font size in the Ford Edge and the Ford Explorer. I bet other Ford models can’t be far behind.
5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating, Part IV
from the Centers for Disease Control website
Read other Low Salt Journey installments: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80′s: Part I, Hospital Cafeterias With No Low-Sodium Options? Part II, Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers: Part III, and 5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating: Part IV.
I’ve already learned five lessons as my husband and I move along, with my parents, on this low-sodium journey.
#1. Look for canned diced tomatoes that have no salt, available at most groceries.
#2. Worry about the sodium in the processed foods — cereal, canned goods, pasta, cheese, snacks, and almost anything that comes as a mix, etc. Forget the counts for fresh foods for the time being. Read more »
Low Salt Diet, Part III: Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers
Read other Low Salt Journey installments: Senior Parents Get Started in Their 80′s: Part I, Hospital Cafeterias With No Low-Sodium Options? Part II, Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers: Part III, and 5 Lessons Learned About Cutting Back on Sodium: Low-Salt Eating: Part IV.
Are you having trouble understanding the various terms and numbers on sodium labels? We are, too. Here’s the best explanation that we’ve found.
From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
… stats below are from Deliciously Healthy Recipes Online, pages 136-137 – a publication of the Healthy People 2010 initiative. The recipes in this book are not particularly low sodium, but otherwise healthy (and not that high sodium either). For low-sodium recipes the NHLBI publishes another book about the DASH Eating Plan, which makes specific suggestions and offers eating plans that modify sodium content.
Multi-Generational Teams Work Best: Surprise!?
Have you been ever in a work situation where you feel especially old because younger colleagues occasionally roll their eyes or flaunt their up-to-the-minute technology skills? Does this situation make you speak defensively, sometimes making jokes about senior moments or aging? We’ve all been there!
Read, Why Multi-Generational Teams Are Best, over at bNet, the CBS Interactive Business Network, and feel much better about your age and the contributions that you make at work.
Two broad reasons that a variety of age groups work together well and produce better results are: Read more »
New CMS Video on Medicare Preventive Benefits
Check it out.
Read the CMS press release about preventive benefits.
Seniors Getting Started with Computers
Visit the Aging Online Blog
Check out Using a Computer for the First Time over at Aging Online. This post describes a Wall Street Journal article about homebound seniors and technology.
Here are some blog posts from AsOurParentsAge about seniors and technology.
Becoming A Grown-up Child
One day in April 2007 my husband and I were the adult kids in our families — we are the only adult children
— and the next day we became what we laughingly call “real grown-ups,” helping first one, then two, and increasingly all three of our parents. It’s time to give back, and we do so willingly and happily. However the process is not easy, and it is not free from anxiety and tension. Check out the As Our Parents Age About page to learn more about the mission of this blog.
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Copyright and Attribution Info
As Our Parents Age by Marti Weston is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on work at AsOurParentsAge.wordpress.com and AsOurParentsAge.net
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by emailing As Our Parents Age. To learn more about this blog go to the AsYourParentsAge About page.
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