Dear Angel, My mom just moved to a nursing home and I want her to be happy and comfortable. Although she seems content, she has asked once or twice about returning home. What are the best ways to address this? Also, how can I help her to feel more at home there? Thanks for your […]
Can Caring for a Loved One Be Harmful?
I met with an adult child of a client earlier this week. When the family first came to me about a year ago, the wife had late-stage Parkinson’s and the husband had been her primary caregiver for many years. The husband was clearly experiencing the stress and fatigue of caregiver burnout. He realized he could […]
Two Scams That Aren’t Widely Known
Dear Kiwi and Mango, A friend of mine recently experienced a gift card draining scam where there was nothing left on a gift card she purchased at the store. Another was a victim of check washing, where the scammer actually washed the writing off a check she put in her mailbox. I have never heard […]
Check-in Services to Keep Seniors Who Are Aging in Place Safe
Many of us have loved ones who are aging in place, who may have mobility issues and who are at risk for falls. We may not live nearby, and we may find ourselves staying up at night worrying about what would happen if our loved one had a bad fall or a medical emergency. What […]
Does an Adult Child Have a Legal and/or Moral Duty to Become a Parent’s Caregiver?
Jane had a good childhood growing up in Virginia. However, she kept both an emotional and geographic distance from her mother for most of her adult life. The rift began after her parents’ divorce, which Jane blamed on her mother. They had only spoken a handful of times over the years. Jane’s mother missed many […]
Getting Remarried? What to Discuss and Plan Before Walking Down the Aisle
Q. I have been a widower for six years and recently found love again. I asked her to marry me and she accepted. This is new to me, as I had been with my late wife for forty years and then on my own again until recently. What are some things that you would suggest […]
Are a Prenuptial Agreement and a Postnuptial Agreement Essentially the Same Thing?
Dear Kiwi and Mango, My brother is getting re-married and is on the fence about a prenuptial agreement. My husband and I actually have a postnuptial agreement. Aren’t they essentially the same thing? Which is preferable? Can you help me convince my brother to get one or the other, since I feel like it is […]
It’s September 26: Twenty-Six Things That Get Better as You Get Older
Many of us are over 40 and are therefore considered “middle-aged.” It is widely believed that aging is inevitably a process of cognitive and physical decline, but that’s not entirely true. In fact, not everything about getting older is negative. There are a lot of non-tangible benefits to “growing older,” which can make you a […]
How Longevity Science Is Slowing Diseases of Aging
Former President Jimmy Carter has lived longer than 46 other presidents in more than 230 years. At 98 years old, Carter, the 39th president, has outlived George H. W. Bush by just under four years– something that seemed unlikely in 2015, when Carter announced that cancer had spread to his brain. As the oldest […]
20 Tips for Dealing with Stubborn, Aging Parents
Q. Both of my parents suffer from chronic health problems. Their home has a lot of steps and is 800 miles away from us. For years, I have begged them to move near me to a housing community with caring support. Instead, they stayed in Florida and bought a different home with a pool and […]
How to Deal with Common Scenarios with Aging Parents
Dear Angel, My parents are getting older and have become more difficult to deal with. It’s even hard to have a conversation with them sometimes, because they are stubborn and unwilling to listen to what I have to say. What are some typical scenarios people face with stubborn parents and how do they handle them, […]
Can an Ingredient in Energy Drinks Increase Your Longevity?
Maureen, 64, is part of a “walking book club.” They meet every morning at 7 a.m. and exercise their bodies and brains as they discuss the book of the week, while logging steps in the neighborhood. Maureen has never been much of a morning person, but she knows how important it is to exercise each […]
The ‘Benjamin Button’ Effect: If Scientists Can Reverse Aging in Mice, Can They Do the Same for Humans?
Fourteen years ago, the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was released. In the movie, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) begins life as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years later, he meets a young lady, Daisy, who flits in and out of his life as she […]
Assisted Living Is Failing to Meet the Needs of Seniors in the US
The senior population in the United States has quadrupled since 1900 and is expected to continue growing significantly, with 46 percent of the baby boomer generation now age 65 and up. According to the Administration for Community Living’s Profile of Older Americans, by 2040, there will be 80.8 million older adults, more than twice as […]
What Happens to the Brain After Age 40?
Eighteen years ago in 2004, Bruce Yankner, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, investigated how human brains change between ages 26 and 106. His research found that some people between 40 and 70 had gene patterns more like younger people and some more like older people. He and his colleagues at Children’s Hospital […]
What Are We Going to Do with Our Century-Long Lives?
Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University and the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, spoke at the LeadingAge Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, last month. She explored how life span has changed over the last century, describing how in just a few generations, the life of an average human has increased […]
Things Not to Do When You Get Older
Upon turning 50, Steven Petrow, an award-winning journalist and author best known for his articles in the Washington Post and New York Times, started a new project. Inspired by his 70-something-year-old parents, he began assembling a list of “things I won’t do when I get old.” Although he was very close with his parents and […]
My Retirement Plan Is You – Adult Children Giving Back to Their Parents in Retirement
Rebecca Danigelis, an immigrant from England, first visited the YWCA on Clarendon Street in Boston in 1978, after she attended rape counseling sessions. Five years later, she moved into a low-income apartment there with her two young sons and eventually was hired as the head housekeeper of the Y’s new hotel on the sixth and […]
What Are the Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise?
Dear Angel, I heard that exercise can not only help you stay young and fit but also has an effect on the brain. Still, I am too lazy to get off the sofa in the cold weather. Can you explain some benefits of exercise that will help convince me that I should start a program? […]
What Can You Learn from 3,000 Years of Collective Life Experience?
Emmy Cleaves, 86, is a yoga teacher who discovered Bikram Yoga after suffering a brain hemorrhage at age 35. Emmy continues to teach at a studio, inspiring students of all ages to heal their bodies and improve their lives with Bikram Yoga. According to Emmy, “I teach because I think it’s so important. It’s a […]
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