Successfully Navigating Your Parents Senior Years

No matter your parents’ age or stage of life, this comprehensive guide walks you step-by-step through developing a flexible, proactive plan that will allow you to make the most informed decisions for your parents’ well-being—and your own. Millions of Americans are in an active caregiver role or will be in one in the future, yet few have a solid plan for the inevitable challenges of aging. Whether your parents are in their 60s or their 90s, and whether they have years of health ahead of them or already need more support, Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years provides the framework and information you need to prepare for and handle with confidence the changes to come. The responsibility of caring for an aging loved one is often daunting—and when trouble hits, the sudden barrage of questions you face can be overwhelming. Have your parents executed their Advance Directives? Do you know what to look for in a senior community (and how to ensure a spot is available when you need it)? If your parents want to stay in their home, what can you do to ensure their safety? Certified aging life care specialist and CEO of Senior Living Strategies Star Bradbury draws on her 25 years of experience in senior living to bring you an up-to-date, comprehensive guide to navigating the tricky waters ahead—starting with putting a plan in place now that maximizes your parents’ independence while providing them with the support they need. Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years covers: How to bring up sensitive topics with your aging parents Steps you can take to keep your parents safely independent in their own homes for longer Red flags that indicate your parents may need more help Senior living options and the key questions to ask in choosing any kind of retirement community Alternative living arrangements to consider for aging parents, such as senior roommates, cohousing, and/or niche retirement communities How to get help paying for your parents’ medical care (you have more options than you think!) Legal and financial documents to have on hand in case of a sudden medical emergency Insider tips, helpful checklists, and more Don’t wait for a crisis to begin planning for the future. Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years is an indispensable blueprint that will give you the tools and knowledge you need to advocate for your parents when they need you most.

No matter your parents’ age or stage of life, this comprehensive guide walks you step-by-step through developing a flexible, proactive plan that will allow you to make the most informed decisions for your parents’ well-being—and your own. Millions of Americans are in an active caregiver role or will be in one in the future, yet few have a solid plan for the inevitable challenges of aging. Whether your parents are in their 60s or their 90s, and whether they have years of health ahead of them or already need more support, Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years provides the framework and information you need to prepare for and handle with confidence the changes to come. The responsibility of caring for an aging loved one is often daunting—and when trouble hits, the sudden barrage of questions you face can be overwhelming. Have your parents executed their Advance Directives? Do you know what to look for in a senior community (and how to ensure a spot is available when you need it)? If your parents want to stay in their home, what can you do to ensure their safety? Certified aging life care specialist and CEO of Senior Living Strategies Star Bradbury draws on her 25 years of experience in senior living to bring you an up-to-date, comprehensive guide to navigating the tricky waters ahead—starting with putting a plan in place now that maximizes your parents’ independence while providing them with the support they need. Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years covers: How to bring up sensitive topics with your aging parents Steps you can take to keep your parents safely independent in their own homes for longer Red flags that indicate your parents may need more help Senior living options and the key questions to ask in choosing any kind of retirement community Alternative living arrangements to consider for aging parents, such as senior roommates, cohousing, and/or niche retirement communities How to get help paying for your parents’ medical care (you have more options than you think!) Legal and financial documents to have on hand in case of a sudden medical emergency Insider tips, helpful checklists, and more Don’t wait for a crisis to begin planning for the future. Successfully Navigating Your Parents’ Senior Years is an indispensable blueprint that will give you the tools and knowledge you need to advocate for your parents when they need you most.

You might learn a few useful things at school, but most of what matters, most of what makes you into a fully functioning human being, no teacher will ever tell you. This diamond-sharp, honest book of hard-earned wisdom is one mother's effort to equip her daughter for survival in the real world. Heartbreakingly funny, Navigating Life has invaluable tips for students of life of all ages. It will challenge you to lead a more meaningful life and to tackle the bumps along the way with grit, style, and ingenuity.

Your parents are growing older and are getting forgetful, starting to slow down, or worse. Suddenly you find yourself at the cusp of one of the most important transitions in your life—and the life of your family. Your parents need you and your siblings to step up and take care of them, a little or a lot. To make the right things happen, you will all need to work together. And yet your siblings may have very different ideas from yours of what’s best for Mom and Dad. They may be completely uninterested in helping, leaving you with all the responsibility. Or they may take charge and not allow you to help, or criticize whatever help you do give. Will you and your siblings be able to reach an understanding and work together, or will the challenges you face tear you apart? Most of us enter this period of our lives unprepared for the difficult decisions and delicate negotiations that lie ahead. This is the first book that provides guidance on the transition from the “old” family to the “new” one, especially for adult siblings. Here you’ll find practical advice on a wide range of topics including • Who will make major medical decisions, manage finances, and enforce end-of-life choices if your parents cannot? And how will this be decided and carried out? • How will you negotiate caregiving issues and deal with unequal contributions or power struggles? • How can inheritance and the division of property, assets, and personal effects be handled to minimize hurt feelings and resentment? • How will you cope with the natural reemergence of unresolved childhood rivalries, hurts, and needs? • How can caring for your parents be an enriching experience rather than a thankless chore? • Most important, how can you ensure the best care for your parents while lessening conflict, guilt, anger, and angst? Written by a veteran journalist who chronicles life and how baby boomers live it, They’re Your Parents, Too! offers all the information, insight, and advice you’ll need to make productive choices as you and your siblings begin to assume your parents’ place as the decision-making generation of your family. Filled with expert guidance from gerontologists, family therapists, elder-care attorneys, financial planners, and health workers; resonant real-life stories; and helpful family negotiation techniques, this is an indispensable book for anyone whose parents are aging.

The authoritative, informative, and reassuring guide on end-of-life care for our aging population. Most people say they would like to die quietly at home. But overly aggressive medical advice, coupled with an unrealistic sense of invincibility or overconfidence in our health-care system, results in the majority of elderly patients misguidedly dying in institutions. Many undergo painful procedures instead of having the better and more peaceful death they deserve. AT PEACE outlines specific active and passive steps that older patients and their health-care proxies can take to ensure loved ones live their last days comfortably at home and/or in hospice when further aggressive care is inappropriate. Through Dr. Samuel Harrington's own experience with the aging and deaths of his parents and of working with patients, he describes the terminal patterns of the six most common chronic diseases; how to recognize a terminal diagnosis even when the doctor is not clear about it; how to have the hard conversation about end-of-life wishes; how to minimize painful treatments; when to seek hospice care; and how to deal with dementia and other special issues. Informed by more than thirty years of clinical practice, Dr. Harrington came to understand that the American health-care system wasn't designed to treat the aging population with care and compassion. His work as a hospice trustee and later as a hospital trustee drove his passion for helping patients make appropriate end-of-life decisions.

Practical, conversational and authentic, this timely book by Lorraine Morales, is a must-read for the increasing number of people with aging parents. The book partners Lorrie’s journey and real-life stories with essential facts, take-aways, and practical advice to help caregivers and their loved ones make realistic, knowledgeable, and simple decisions before they’re in a crisis. Focused on Alberta but applicable to all Canadians, Lorrie’s insights touch on everything from organizing medical information to choosing a nursing home. Readers will benefit from the wealth of knowledge shared by the author, and they will feel encouraged and equipped to do what needs to be done. We Can Do This! offers Lorrie’s personal story to help others realize that planning for later years in life can be a relatively stress-free process. A tribute to her parents and a guide to all those struggling with the “What do I do now?” questions associated with aging parents, We Can Do This! is one of the new generation of books in health care and senior communities containing indispensable information for all readers.

Help Your Son Grow into the Man He's Meant to Be There's never been a more challenging time to be the mother of a teenage boy. Our young men are currently in crisis, falling far behind their female counterparts in school and in life and failing to learn the lessons they need to survive and thrive in the adult world. With SavingOur Sons, veteran psychotherapist and founder of The Quest Project(R) Clayton Lessor, MA, LPC is out to reverse this trend. Based on years of research, study and practical application, Saving Our Sons provides mothers--as well as fathers and other caregivers--with the expert guidance they need to help their sons navigate the turbulent transition between boyhood and manhood. You'll learn: - Why what you're doing now isn't working - The wound that all adolescent boys share - The five things a boy needs to grow into a healthy man - What mothers can (and can't) do to help their sons transition to manhood - How to tell when your son is in trouble, and where to turn for help - An overview of The Quest Project(R), including exercises you can do with your son at home - Case studies of eight young men who have completed The Quest Project(R) - And much more

Dr. Bowers examines the challenges a child with ADHD presents and offers parents workable, effective ways of handling the behavior problems. He reminds parents that, despite the diagnosis, children need to be held responsible for their actions and he suggests how to use positive discipline strategies to help them learn better behavior.

Make your later years your best! As many people live longer, they have more choices than ever before to make their later years more fulfilling. With AARP’s Navigating Your Later Years For Dummies, Portable Edition,you discover the many options you have for living independently, getting the best healthcare, and determining what legal papers and insurance you need. You don’t need to make these types of decisions alone. This handy resource also gives you expert advice on how to review your choices and discuss them with loved ones. This practical guide gives you advice on how to Downsize and declutter your home, talking to your family about what they want—and don’t want Decide whether to stay in your home or move to a retirement community Create wills, trusts, advance directives, and living wills Determine when it’s time to let someone else do the driving Facing the changes that come with aging can be tough, but you can make the most of this special time of your life. Navigating Your Later Years For Dummies, Portable Edition, gives you the information you need to stroll confidently into your future.