HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight Watchers®.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


Home For The Holidays: Avoid Aging Parents Becoming A Burden


By not planning for the future we guarantee that we will leave our children with a tremendous burden. Just about the time they are preparing for their own retirement and their children's college education, adult children often are overwhelmed with decision-making for their aging parents.

As a long term care administrator I heard it daily, "I don't want to be a burden to my children." But unintentionally most of us make it even harder for our children by not clearly defining our wishes or preferences. We can help them out by asserting control over our future health care, residential choices, and even how we will die. There are specific and discrete steps we can take to shape our own destiny. Many of these tasks only take a few moments of your time, some take a little research and others may require professional assistance. None of them are extremely costly or difficult.

So why don't more of us do this type of planning? Seniors are concerned about losing control of their life and being a burden to their grown children but many just don't know what to do. For instance, the majority of people want to die at home, but very few do. Become familiar with your options and make your preferences known while thinking clearly, while free from pain and prior to an emergency or crisis.

The loss of a parent is difficult enough for an adult child. We can save them additional grief by doing the following,

  • clean house: get rid of all the worthless clutter and unimportant stuff

  • prepare and organize those important papers and throw out the unimportant ones

  • prepare advance directives and tell others what they contain and where they are located

  • make our own funeral plans and ensure there are sufficient funds to pay for it

  • leave our legacy through writings, photo albums, heirloom assignment and recording of family stories

You can avoid becoming a burden to your children by taking control of your end of life with as much care, intent and forethought as you have lived the rest of your life.

About The Author

Linda LaPointe, MRA is an ElderLife Matters coach and author of several products to assist families experiencing aging including the pamphlet, Don't Be a Burden: 100 Tips. Get free articles and information at www.SOSpueblo.com.

sospueblo@yahoo.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Consumer Affairs

Jardine, Regulators Expand Baby-Crib Recall
Wall Street Journal - 10 hours ago
The cribs in the original recall were sold at various stores nationwide, including KidsWorld, Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us and Geoffrey Stores. ...
More China-Made Baby Cribs Recalled AHN
Baby Cribs Recalled Due To Strangulation Danger WHIOtv.com
Jardine Expands Recall of Cribs Sold at Babies 'R' Us Consumer Affairs
The Associated Press - WMUR
all 83 news articles


BBC News

Baby dies as bug strikes hospital
BBC News, UK - 8 hours ago
A baby has died and six others are in an isolation ward after an infection struck at the neo-natal unit of a Birmingham hospital. ...
Neonatal ward sealed off after baby dies Times Online
Deadly bug kills baby and puts seven more in isolation in hospital Telegraph.co.uk
Baby dies in hospital bug outbreak The Press Association
The Birmingham Post - EditoWeb Magazine
all 149 news articles


Police found body of baby in trash
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Jan 5, 2009
Authorities combing through 60 tons of trash, searching for the body of a baby allegedly dumped by his 16-year-old mother, found a dead infant in the ...


ABC News

HORROR: Dead Baby Thrown In NJ Hospital Garbage
WCBS-TV New York, NY - 23 hours ago
Read more in our Privacy Policy A shocking story came out of Jersey City on Monday night: the remains of a baby were thrown out in a hospital's trash. ...
Video: Baby's Corpse Thrown Out With Hospital's Trash AssociatedPress
Hospital throws a babies body in trash ShortNews.com
all 322 news articles


Kids alone for days, parents dead in locked room
The Associated Press - 23 hours ago
"How could they leave the babies?" asked neighbor Ashley Barker. "If something was going on, an argument, why didn't they send them to the neighbors? ...


Sisters close out '08, ring in '09 with babies at West Valley Hospital
Arizona Republic, AZ - 8 hours ago
But the Southwest Valley's first baby of 2009 was born at Banner Estrella Medical Center in southwest Phoenix. Alexander Camacho was born at 12:47 am New ...


Briefs | Fatal wreck, arson fire, babies injured
Kansas City Star, MO - 21 hours ago
Babies injured in two cases A 37-year-old man has been charged in connection with injuring a 2 1/2 -month-old girl and her mother Sunday in Kansas City, ...


TopNews

Long leave helps baby's health and mom's
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR - 3 hours ago
Taking many months of maternity leave improves the health of working women and their babies, two new studies report. But the authors say such leaves are ...
Maternity Leave Good for Mother and Baby MedPage Today
Long maternity leaves increase breastfeeding Times of India
all 24 news articles


E! Online

Hollywood Baby Roundup: January 6, 2009
VIP Breakdown, WA - 3 hours ago
Rebecca Romijn: Despite being pregnant with twins, Romijn was able to deliver her babies without being noticed. The Ugly Betty star and her husband, ...
Baby Photos: Rebecca Romijn Hubby Jerry O'Connell Shows Off Twins ... National Ledger
Rebecca Romijn Gives Birth To Twin Baby Girls E Canada Now
Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell Have Babies LimeLife
Celebrity Baby Blog - RTE.ie
all 405 news articles


Working out with baby
Dallas Morning News, TX - 7 hours ago
It's never too early to get the babies started on fitness. And it's good for the moms, too. Destination Maternity at 5539 LBJ Freeway, near the Dallas ...

babies - Google News