How do you do what is best for grandparents, with regards to taking care of them, as they

get older and everyday tasks slowly become more difficult? Having Grandparents myself who

are currently getting older my family has been asking themselves questions and going over

problems that may occur as my grandparents become elderly. When my Grandparents were

young, the common thing to do was have them live with you until they passed away. However,

times have changed, and I would like to discuss and explore the various options to help care for

grandparents while taking into consideration what is best for both us and them.

While reading and doing research, something that I noticed as a reoccurring theme is the

wide range of options available for care taking. No matter what article I read or what specifically

I was looking into, there were many options to help a family figure out what is specifically the

best fit for them. Medical specialist Leslie Kernisan, in her article “Nine Types of Issues to

Address When Helping Older Parents”, describes many different scenarios along with key

factors describing each option available. Some of the options include installing safety provisions,

setting up a medicine system, and helping out with transportation. Another key point I noticed is

there was no negativity in the articles I read. I assumed the topic of death would be considered in

almost anything I read, but I was pleasantly surprised to find each article focused on everyone

having the most successful life possible.

The one major disagreement I found while looking through reliable sources was money. I

quickly noticed a difference of opinion in what a person should spend to take care of the elderly.

Ruben Castaneda from “U.S. News” gave seven very simple ideas to help “not break the bank”.

On the other side of things “Aging in place”, from their website, gave specific information

saying that we should do whatever we can to take care of the people who raised us and have been
helping us our whole lives. This raises an opportunity for discussion to figure out how big of a

factor that money can be.

A common misconception about planning for an elder’s care is that it is a simple task. It

is assumed that once you leave your own house you do not need your parents and they do not

need you, however as your parents and grandparents get older, they are going to need more and

more attention and sometimes more help. It is not easy growing old so keeping in touch and

especially making sure they are taken care of is extremely important and should be a top priority.

Margarita Tartakovsky in her article “8 Ways to Help Your Aging Parents”, stated that

“Sometimes you might be taken aback by your parents’ frustration, moody behavior or

neediness. In fact, on some days, they might be downright unpleasant to be around. But it’s

important to be empathetic and understand where they’re coming from”. This eliminates any idea

that helping our family grow order is just a simple task.

In doing research and finding different types of sources to solve my main problem of

finding what is best for the elderly, I have started to develop a better understanding of the current

issues. While researching and reading articles I have found that there is always a solution that

works best for each family, it is just a matter of finding it and making it work. Money seems to

come across as the biggest problem I have found when it comes to care. As I mentioned earlier

while reading an article from the “News Daily”, you do not have to spend hundreds of thousands

of dollars on care, but the option is there if a family wants to go that route. Thinking about the

solutions I have found, there are still questions that require more investigation, but I do believe I

am on the right track.

Kernisan, Leslie. Nine Types of Issues to Address When Helping Older Parents,

https://betterhealthwhileaging.net/what-to-address-when-hel. ping-older-parents/

The Author of the article is board-certified in medicine and Geriatrics. She has spent

many years researching how to develop and further healthcare for aging adults. She has overseen

many projects for the “Over 60 Healthcare Center” and now works part-time to write about

caregiving for the elderly. The author wrote this article to analyze the type of help the elderly

requires and talk about some early signs to help point out when a family needs to step in.

Castaneda, Ruben. What Care Options Are Available For Aging People on a Budget, October

31st , 2017. https://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-nursing-homes/articles/2017-

10-31/what-care-options-are-available-for-aging-people-on-a-budget

The Author of this article is a News reporter who specializes and writes about health

care on many different levels. The author wrote this to give information about affordable ways

to help the elderly without “breaking the bank”.

Tartakovsky, Margarita. Eight Ways to Help Your Aging Parents, July 8 th, 2018.

https://psychcentral.com/blog/8-ways-to-help-your-aging-parents/

The author is a well know writer specializing in phycology and metal health. She grabbed

ideas from other medical experts and through research gathered eight very important ways to
help an aging parent or grandparent. The author wrote this article to inform and help a family

who could be struggling in knowing how to help their loved ones grow old.

Pinola, Melanie. How to Care for Your Aging Parents, February 27 th, 2015.

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-care-for-your-aging-parents-1688333666

The Author is a high-level Web developer and a former IT Admin. She writes about

processes and reports on different ways to help people. The Author has written this article to

lay out the steps that families can take to help their aging parents or grandparents. The best

part about the information is that there is no specific order that a family should follow, the

article just gives great information about different options families do have.

Berman, Claire. What Aging Parents Want From Their Kids. March 4 th, 2016.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/when-youre-the-aging-

parent/472290/

The article is from “The Atlantic”, which is basically Atlanta’s version of “The New York

Times”. The article gives a different point of view by talking about what could be going through

the grandparent’s head instead of their children’s. The article was written to ensure that the

parent or grandparent gets the care that the need in the right way. The author specializes in

writing about the importance of emotions in different situations. She writes many books
pertaining to care, but one of her most famous ones is “Caring for Yourself While Caring for

Your Aging Parents”.