Summary
The chapter discusses the society as a whole and how age is impacting everyday living. The chapter begins by explaining how over time our life expectancy has increased even with all the horrible disease and illness surrounding our lives. The chapter has many charts and graphs showing the differences with age from employment, marital status, suicide rates, grandparent’s roles, incomes, unemployment rates, and the age gap. Each chart was informative and compared the youth to question how society perceives the elderly. The chapter also described the elderly and their happiness levels, family roles such as Grandparenting, home-life and being cared for at nursing homes or by adult children, and the health and impact of lifestyles for longevity. Overall, the chapter explained in detail how the elderly lives in our society and brings up the fact that baby boomers are getting older and our society will be changing drastically.
New, Interesting, or Unusual Items Learned
I found figure 17.6 very interesting and somewhat confirming what I thought. Many older Americans want to work while younger Americans need to work. I also found it unusual that many older Americans couldn’t find work.
Question/Concern
After reading the section on Grandparenting styles I wondered what the impact of each style would bring on these grandchildren and their parents (Grandparent’s adult children)? Then, what about relationships with or without other family members?
Brian Bitner
From observing, i have seen how an involved grandparent can impact a child's life. The child may have someone to turn to when they aren't getting along with their parents or the parents have have someone to turn to when they need advice about their kids or simply need a babysitter. They can provide support to the family while not overstepping their boundaries.
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