Caregiver Connection Newsletter

Warm Winter!

We have been blessed with a warm winter (so far) and have avoided the vagaries of the storms in the east and south.

Time to talk about safety. Be circumspect when outdoors soaking up the sun. The premature warm weather can bring out critters on the hiking trails, and in the backyards of foothill homes.

Add to that, over activity protection for us Seniors, and young'un's safety when we are in our rolls as kid-sitting Grands, should be near the top of our minds. Our two Articles this month address both of these concerns.

Our Second and Fourth Thursday Lunch Time Presentations on Senior & Family Caregiver Issues are alive and going well. Plan to be a part of either or both of them. Our Schedule of Presentations is at:
http://SeniorConnection.us/CurrentPresentations.html
and we're adding to the schedule all the time.

Regards,
Don

If you would like more information on volunteering in helping me to get the newsletter out each month by aiding in the updating of the information on the Agencies, Support Groups and Community pages, please email me at

Continuing to Make the Connection,
Don

Our Speakers Bureau

In-Person presentations are available two (or more) times per month from Jan through November at Noon. We urge you to attend all of these Speakers Bureau presentations at

Las Fuentes Resort Village
1035 Scott Drive
Prescott 86301
(the second Thursday of the month)
and
American Lutheran Church
1085 Scott Drive
Prescott 86301
(on the fourth Thursday of the month).

If you would like to be added to my Bulk Mail distribution list to be notified about all Senior Connection upcoming Events, please email me at

If you can't make it to one of the presentations due to weather or prior commitment, you will find that most (but not all) of the presentations will be video-taped and put up on our website within a day or two of the In-Person presentation.

There are over 140 past Presentations that are available to you 24 hours a day on the Senior Connection Streaming website with a simple mouse click. Check all these fabulous presentations at TeleConnection.us

Informational Articles

As Caregivers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks that need to be accomplished for your loved one each day. While it’s easy to remain upbeat on good days, it’s the bad days that can leave you feeling confused, exhausted or resentful. At these times, it’s important to know that you’re not alone.

Knowing what to expect can help tremendously in your ability to cope. Knowledge is Power! Each month in this newsletter we include one or more articles on topics relating to the joys and challenges of aging and caregiving.

Please let me know if you find the articles useful and what other topics you’d like to see.

When the grandkids come over for a visit and to play awhile, rules for your household change.

Providing a safe environment for the grandkids falls on your shoulders. Even when playing indoors, kid accidents is a reality that Grands have to attempt to minimize. How you go about doing that may be a bit of a mystery, especially if you are new to grandparenting.

Some of the major causes of accidents of kids at play are Grands not paying close enough attention to their charges, kids inbred need for horse play, lack of 'house' rules or their enforcement and some outside factors.

Grands have to be vigilant and watchful when there are kids playing inside their house. This may be so far outside the 'normal' thinking of the household - you seldom find yourself being vigilant with a spouse or an adult guest/visitor - that it requires a certain level of pre-planning.

Your house probably wasn't set up to be a gymnasium, so things that are important to you cannot be left out in harms way. Fragile items have to be protected so that they do not become a hazard to a youngster who is not paying attention.

It seems that horseplay is a birthright for kids, and Grands have to somehow accommodate the behavior. But in fact it is more an indicator of youngster metabolism, and just how active a youngster needs to be to be healthy. That doesn't mean that Grands have to put up with unbridled havoc. But understanding the behavioral impetus can make it easier for the Grand to tolerate and cope by effectively derailing, or distracting or redirecting behavior that will be safe for both the kid and the Grand.

It is true that even the most vigilant Grand can't possibly watch the entire tribe all the time. So you have to be able to depend on the kids to (age appropriately) police themselves when they are not being closely supervised. This is where a set of 'House Rules' are in order to help set the boundaries for a happy coexistence between kids and your home.

Rules like: No leaving the house or yard boundaries without a Grand's expressed permission. No going out to the pool without a Grand being in present. No peeking at what's cooking on the stove top or in the oven. Stay out of the knife drawer. No mucking around in the garage looking for something to do, etc.

As kids age and mature, house rules start looking less trivial, like: The Grands bedroom is entirely off-base. No age-inappropriate use of smart phones. No clandestine friends showing up unexpectedly or not approved in advance by the Grands. Grand's tools go back where they came from, etc.

It might seem trivial, but some kids are brought up to respond well to boundaries, some are not, so you may have your work cut out for you. It may seem that the hard part is making rules palatable for youngsters. But in really boils down to 1) Making rules clear and simple, 2) Enforcing rules evenhandedly, 3) Remember to reward successes, 4) Recognize/verbalize any deviation.

Warm Winter!

Our Speakers Bureau

Informational Articles

This Month’s Newsletter Articles:

"Grandkids -
When the House Rules Change"

by Don Stewart

"Senior Safety -
Let Exercise be the Solution,
Not a Culprit"