Grandparents help make children's lives more fulfilling.

Grandparents offer love, affection, acceptance and understanding in a way that few others can.

GRANDPARENTS and their grandchildren often have a mutually satisfying relationship. They are naturally drawn to each other and fill a gap in each other's needs.

Grandchildren reciprocate with their own love and youthful exuberance. Grandparents tell rich stories about family history and cultural values. In turn, grandchildren might show off their latest electronic gadget or assist with a computer glitch.

The modern family, with all its variations and hectic pace -- work, thin on time and sleep -- often calls on a grandparent to temporarily fill a gap or offer expertise on a family issue.

A growing number of grandparents dedicate their lives to their grandchildren. Sixteen percent of grandparents have a daily involvement with their grandkids. Generational contact is important for children. Developmental psychologists encourage it.

 

 

 
Home is where the heart is.

Caregivers often need information to help their loved ones make the transition to a new place to call "home."

As a caregiver, your goal is to have your loved one be content with his or her new home. You have to be sure that the housing provides the support your loved one needs to live safely and comfortably while aging.

The an array of housing choices matching the housing to the needs, wants, and personality of your older family member is better today than it ever has been.

Specialized Housing Choices

Active-adult communities are most appropriate for older people who are healthy, independent, and interested in the social benefits of living among peers.

If your loved one considers this kind of residential setting, be sure to ask about regulations regarding adult children or grandchildren moving in with residents. 

 

Needing Some Help

Often the reason families are looking into different housing options is that their older family members need help on a daily basis. Depending upon the level of care needed, options include assisted-living residences and nursing homes.

 

Assisted-living arrangements help people stay as independent as possible while offering necessary help. They provide personal care and support services or help with basic daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, and medication management. Most assisted-living residences provide apartment-style living, though there are also "board-and-care homes" and "personal care-group homes," which are single-family dwellings licensed at the state or local level to provide care. They offer meals, activities, housekeeping, transportation, and some level of security.

 

 

Nursing Home facilities provide skilled nursing care for older adults who require it. While the homes have doctors on staff, nursing assistants provide most of the help with basic, daily activities, and nurses direct medical monitoring and intervention when necessary.

Their work is often supported by speech, occupational, and physical therapists, who work to keep residents as strong as possible.

The nursing-home decision is one of the most difficult housing choices that families have to make. Quality can vary among these facilities.

 

 

In most societies throughout the world, elders are the most revered. Our society is not one of them -- but it should be. We need to find more ways to connect young children with their elders. After all, it's a match made in heaven.

BEST ASSISTED LIVING IN CHARLOTTE

BEST NURSING HOME IN CHARLOTTE

BEST ADULT COMMUNITY IN CHARLOTTE