As Our Parents Age So Do We

Perspective and Reliability

• Opinions expressed in As Our Parents Age postings are my own, and do not represent the views of any of the schools or institutions where  I have taught..
• Posts that explore a subject will link to reliable and authoritative references (newspapers, publications, research results, government as well as academic, and institutional web sites, etc.).
• Some posts are family memories or reminiscences.
• Thoughtful comments, clarifications, ideas, suggestions, and corrections are welcome.
• Please check the About page for more information about the blog author.
• Guest authors will be acknowledged with background information.

Confidentiality

• The relationship between patients and medical personal or between aging seniors and retirement community staff members will always be respected (HIPPA laws).
• The relationship between parents and children is close to sacred. Our parents inspire and support us.  I refer to the aging parents in our family on a fairly regular basis, with their permission but without their names. Some family pictures are posted, again with permission.
• If content refers to an experience of other people, family or non-family, I either ask for permission, wait for time to elapse before describing the scenario, or a write a post is a way that precludes identification.
• As Our Parents Age holds the medical profession, public health professionals, caregivers, and other individuals who work with senior citizens in high regard.
• If a post mentions a situation in which individuals were inconsiderate, disrespectful, or provided poor service, names are omitted, and the sole purpose is to help other adult children have enough information to protect their parents and remove them from similar situations.

Commercial Disclosure

• At this time there is no advertising on As Our Parents Age and the payment for this blog includes the feature that removes advertisement. Should the advertising policy change, readers will be informed.
• I am not earning money as a consultant on any of the topics posted on As Our Parents Age.
• See the About page to learn about my professional work.
• I have on occasion provided technology support for senior citizens, sometimes receiving a small stipend, however I am not promoting my technology skills or services

Inspiration

• Older seniors who I know speak often about the lack of respect they feel when encountering committed, well-intentioned professionals, including staff at various organizations, retirement communities, doctors, nurses, librarians, and other individuals. I, too, have observed this happening.
• When helping to care for a seriously ill parent, adult children caregivers regularly discover gaps in their knowledge. In our household these topics gradually evolved into a list that we casually referred to as “things we wished we’d known about before all of this started.”
• We often wonder how to make the caregiving period easier for us and our parents, and how we can tap the extraordinary wisdom of our parents, even during serious illness.
• In my household we read newspapers and web sites continuously, locating content that relates to the adult child/aging parent experience so we are sharing our discoveries. We feel the same way when we locate good, but hard-to-find resources buried in unusual places on the web.

Courtesy

• We all know how important it is, but as our interactions become more public in the virtual world, courtesy seems to be demoted to an afterthought.
• Please see the As Our Children Age Comment page for a broad discussion of blog participation and decorum.

Gratitude

• To my amazing parents and to my husband’s parents who me miss.
• To my husband, with academic training in Public Health, who reads and edits my posts and makes great suggestions about possible topics.