Caring for Your Aging Parents: A Sourcebook of Timesaving Techniques and Tips

Anyone who is responsible for caring for an elderly parent or relative, especially one in ill health, needs all the counsel that is available. Smith, a journalist who specializes in women's issues and elder care, provides many time-saving schemes and other ideas for harried care-givers juggling jobs and their own families while also trying to look after an elderly parent. She includes information on where to find free or low-cost health services, how to modify the home environment of elderly parents and how to organize their financial and legal affairs. Smith also describes how to cope with long-distance care-giving, balance care-giving with professional responsibilities and hands-on care-giving techniques. Particularly helpful are listings of national organizations that provide information on elder-care topics and a home shopping guide for difficult-to-find products often needed by the elderly. Nor does the author neglect the emotional and physical needs of the care-giver. Solutions to burnout and guilt are generous. Still, advice is not action, and some of Smith's are unrealistic--most of us living out of town do not have the means to hire a private security firm to patrol Dad's neighborhood and check to see if the doors and window locks are secure. (Feb.)