Consumer Focus Column: Celebrate the Holidays with a Talk about Aging « The Future of Aging Blog

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Tis the season for reconnecting with family members. Often this can mean discovering that parents, aunts and uncles are showing signs of aging. Perhaps you are noticing some memory loss or some problems with gait or balance as your relatives walk across the room. Perhaps you are beginning to think to yourself, “Things have changed; we’ve got to do something!”

But what?

In most families, planning for later years – even having a conversation about it – is unusual. We don’t want to face our own old age, must less that of our parents. We deny that they (we) will someday become frail, perhaps disabled. Yet, these are normal changes when it comes to aging. Rather than deny it, we should expect it. We might even plan for it.

So, how do we begin that difficult conversation?

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