SAGE Eldercare and Your Decisions Matter hosted two live zoom events featuring New York Times bestselling author and Ph.D. Michael Thompson on February 9th and 22nd. “Grandparents are missing their grandchildren; grandchildren want to see their grandparents, and the parents in the middle are missing the support and connection across the generations,” explained Thompson, who himself is a grandparent of three.
While Facetime and Zoom allow for face to face communication, the technology can feel awkward and unsatisfying to older adults. Thompson discussed this and the stress of being separated from families, the yearning to be in touch and the unique difficulties grandparents are experiencing during COVID-19. He also shared alternative modes of connecting that can help.
Thompson is the author or coauthor of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys as well as Best Friends/ Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children, The Pressured Child and Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow. He also works as a clinical psychologist and school consultant. He is presently the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School in Belmont, MA and has worked in over 700 schools in the U.S., Asia, Africa Europe and Central America.
“We were excited for SAGE to offer this very informative program,” said Nina Tiger, Coordinator of Your Decisions Matter. “We know the difficulty older adults are facing during this unprecedented time and one of the biggest issues they are voicing is that they miss their grandchildren terribly. We hope this program offered them helpful solutions.”
For more information about Your Decisions Matter email yourdecisionsmatter@sageeldercare.org or call 908-598-5511.
Your Decisions Matter is a community initiative funded by Atlantic Health’s Chilton and Overlook Medical Centers’ Community Advisory Boards whose goal is to encourage families to talk with their loved ones about end-of-life care and decision making.
Since 1954, SAGE Eldercare has been helping make the communities it serves amazing places to age. The non-profit organization provides a wide array of information, support, and services designed to help individuals lead the most independent and active lives possible. For more information, please call 908.273.5550 or visit www.sageeldercare.org.