Parenting Your Parents

Providing Care

By: Dr. Michael Gordon and Bart Mindszenthy

If you are caring for an aging parent, or soon to start the journey, this is an essential read.

Baycrest's Dr. Michael Gordon and crisis communications expert Bart Mindszenthy share straight talk and practical advice about aging in a family. Both men have been devoted caregivers to their aging parents and saw that issues around aging and eldercare weren't getting much attention.  They couldn't find many good books on the subject for adult children so decided to team up to write one.

Parenting Your Parents offers 24 real-life case studies that have happened to families with aging parents, and at the end of each scenario the geriatrician's advice for that family to better manage the situation. There are plenty of situations in the book that will resonate with adult children.  Chapters include: control: laying on the guilt trip; the conflicted single child; managing the sudden challenges and changes in a parent after stroke; helping parents maintain their independence; reading the signs of dementia and depression; dealing with substance abuse; end-of-life care decisions; sibling rivalries over a frail parent's affection; eldertravel: balancing the risks and benefits; and culture clash: pitting values against needs.