Family
How do the children, grandchildren, friends and other relatives find a way to work together to support older people?
How I coped with my mum’s dementia
This week’s storyteller is Lesley Trenner. Lesley, an Ageing Parent Coach, describes how she learnt to deal with her mum’s advancing dementia while making career decisions. She talks about how she now offers support to others facing similar challenges with their parents. Looking back, we aren’t entirely sure when mum’s mental condition started to decline […]
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Carers support groups, can they help?
Adrienne Gruberg, Founder of US site The Caregiver Space, talks about how she cared for her late husband and mother-in-law and shares how support groups helped her cope. When you read things in the news about how people have become full-time carers for their parents and partners you never think it’s going to happen to […]
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Tips to change festive pressure into pleasure
Juggling the needs of family, friends and work can come to a head during the festive season, especially if you‘re the sort of person that wants everyone to have a wonderful time. Trying to meet the needs of older family as well as the young can be daunting. Dr Mariette Jansen offers a few tips […]
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Tips on dementia and the family fall-out
This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. After taking the lion’s share of caring for her mother despite having an extended family close at hand, this week’s storyteller shares some of her insights into making the best of what life throws at us. Recognise that people don’t get it The problem with dementia is […]
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Tips on juggling work, family – and two parents with dementia
Written by Kathy Lawrence This week’s storyteller is Anita.One parent with dementia is tough. Anita Avery found herself trying to hold down a job, take care of a family, and look after two parents – one with Alzheimer’s and the other with vascular dementia. We asked Anita to share the lessons her experience has taught […]
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Cruise review: recuperative, fun or a health challenge?
Written by Kathy Lawrence Update. Cruises are massively popular today, and some countries and cities have started to put a limit on how many visitors they are willing to accept. If you’re thinking of booking a cruise for yourself or a relative, the latest Which? report on cruises has been published in February 2020. It […]
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Cool, calm and collected or collapsing, crying and crumpling?
However much we love our parents, taking on responsibility for their challenges can be incredibly stressful, especially as we have no idea of knowing when the next crisis will occur. Our expert Dr De-Stress explains how stress can undermine our well-being and offers tips on what to do about it. Life can be demanding, especially […]
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How can I get mum to take my worries about her seriously?
Dear Lesley I’m so worried about my mum. She’s had two falls in the last few months, with the last one resulting in her cutting her head open in three places. After the last fall I took her to see a lovely retirement flat that has a warden but offers independent living. She liked it […]
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Who takes responsibility when it’s a more distant relative who needs help?
Dear Lesley We were visiting my parents over the Christmas holiday – I thought the visit would be an opportunity to see how they are getting on, as they are both in their 80s now, and was looking forward to a bit of a break myself. As it turned out, they are not doing so […]
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Does my aunt need to be in a care home or not?
Dear Lesley My elderly aunt is currently living in a care home. She moved there following several near accidents with hot saucepans and irons and some very bad falls. At the time she also appeared to be showing signs of dementia. In her new environment she appears to have completely recovered mentally. Her mobility is […]
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