Tag Archives: Shannon Lindquist

Kids as caregivers

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Photo courtesy Michigan State University Extension

By Shannon Lindquist, Michigan State University Extension

 

Research conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving estimates over 1.4 million youth ages 8–18 are taking care of ill, injured, elderly or disabled family members. They are taking care of parents, grandparents and siblings as well as dealing with the most prevalent conditions: Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, heart, lung or kidney diseases, arthritis and diabetes.

 

What kind of care are they providing?

 

Kids are not just performing day-to-day household chores such as laundry, dishes, vacuuming and fixing simple meals, they are handing out medications, bathing, dressing, toileting and feeding family members. Some are even responsible for communicating with health care providers.

 

While it may seem inappropriate for kids to take on caregiving duties, changes in family structures, such as kids being raised in single parent homes or by their grandparents, increase the number of older people and multi-generations in households. Healthcare delivery has also changed so that home visits have decreased and an increase of care is becoming the responsibility of families instead of hospitals and doctor offices.

 

Why are kids in the role of caregiver?

 

Not everyone agrees that a child should be in the role of a family caregiver, however, changes in family structure and how healthcare is delivered impacts children. Economic hardships also play a part in multi-generation households, with married adults returning home with children. Regarding healthcare, medical facilities are no longer providing complex care, instead, it is being done at home by family members. Adults may be identified as the primary caregiver, however due to job obligations, children end up providing care.

 

How do caregiving responsibilities affect these kids?

 

Roger Olson, a clinical child psychologist at St. Luke’s Children’s Center for Neurobehavioral Medicine in Boise, Idaho, states that low level caregiving (helping with chores, running errands or spending time together) helps youth with character development. This type of caregiving fosters kindness, generosity, compassion and nurturance.  The other, more personal side to caregiving including feeding, bathing or changing adult diapers, can take a toll and may be traumatizing to a child. Children have the coping skills of children and are not equipped to handle these stressful roles.

 

What can we do to help youth caregivers?

 

We can help young caregivers by knowing behaviors that may be signals of concern:

  • School: tardiness, missed days, incomplete assignments, lower participation in after-school programming, poor behavior and dropping-out
  • Emotionally: anxiety, depression, grief and feelings of being overwhelmed
  • Socially: difficulties getting along with others, loss of social activities and friendships
  • Physically: exhausted, lethargic and lack of interest in appearance

We can also bring awareness to our communities that kids are in this role. We can help by providing resource information for kids in our local schools, religious organizations and public libraries. Starting a local coalition can bring more attention and support for these families. Every caregiver needs and deserves support.

 

For information on youth caregivers visit the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) at www.aacy.org or call 800-508-9618 or 561-391-7401 for direct assistance. The AACY website has suggestions and links that can help families, professionals and school-based staff to assist caregiving kids. Visit the Michigan State University Extension website for additional information related to caregiving.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

 

Low-cost or no-cost gift-giving ideas with a healthy twist

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Courtesy MSU Extension

By Shannon Lindquist, Michigan State University Extension

 

Gift-giving adds up fast, both financially and emotionally, during the holiday season. The stress of finding just the right thing may be easier than you think and you can keep your loved ones health in mind at the same time.

 

Michigan State University Extension suggests these healthy ideas to be used for any age group and they promote physical activity and healthy eating along the way.

  • Health related magazine – Give a recipe magazine or one related to overall health. There are magazines for children, women or men as well as magazines specific to physical activity.
  • Healthy recipe and ingredients – Do you have a favorite healthy recipe that everyone always asks you to make? Copy the recipe and purchase the ingredients and you have a great gift.
  • Meals for someone home bound – Prepare a meal for someone who has just had a baby or surgery, to an elderly person no longer able to get out or anyone else you feel is in need. As you cook for yourself or your family, simply take out one serving. These meals could also be frozen and used as needed by the person receiving them.
  • Coupon to host a sledding party – Sledding is a great way to promote physical activity during winter months. After sledding, serve healthy snacks like cheese sticks and apples with low-fat hot chocolate.
  • Physical activity items – Purchase exercise equipment either new or used that can be found at second-hand stores. If kids are on your list, look for soccer balls, bats, skates, scooters, snowshoes, sleds, exercise bands or helmets to keep kids thinking of physical activity all year long.
  • Gift certificate to swim at a local hotel – Swimming is appropriate for any age group and could be used for those older adults who have everything. Many hotels have designated public swimming hours with daily or monthly passes available.
  • Gardening supplies – Gardening supplies might not be as easily found in large stores this time of year, but local hardware and farm supply stores will have a rake, shovel, hand tools, gloves or knee pads, many items to make a gardener happy and ready to plan for next year’s garden.
  • Coupons to walk with a friend – Have you been meaning to join friends on a daily walk? This gift benefits the giver and the receiver. Keep yourself and your friends motivated to take that healthy walk each day, create a coupon in the shape of your favorite walking shoes. On your way out the door grab a can of soup for each hand and work those arm muscles while walking.
  • Gift certificate for roller-skate rental – When is the last time you went roller-skating? Roller rinks are still available and are a great way to spend time participating in physical activity as a family.

These gifts don’t take a lot of time, are low or no cost and send a strong message of caring because they promote health and well-being to those you care about, great reasons to choose from this list when finishing up your holiday gift-giving.

 

Not sure you’re crafty enough to create all these great gift certificate ideas? Pinterest can help! Simply fill in the information and print the certificates at home. For family nutrition information, Choose My Plate online has a wealth of information to stay healthy all year long. To find out more about physical activity and healthy eating for the whole family try the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

What happened at school today? Nothing.

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Community Health, Education, How-To's, Kids Activities,

By Shannon Lindquist, Michigan State University Extension

 

School is is session and all across the nation parents are asking their children the same question, “What happened at school today?”, and the majority of kids respond indicating that nothing happened at school. Where are the details? Parents want details!

 

Getting kids to share what happened during the school day can be difficult and frustrating. Child care expert Lynn Gibson, offers suggestions for starting conversations that will elicit more than a single word when you ask that important question. Putting all your questions on hold is the first order of business. Give your kids some breathing space when they first get home, they have been following different expectations all day and need to switch out of school mode. Be patient if your child has some ornery moments, eventually they will be ready to share their day.

 

The period of time between arriving home, having dinner and bedtime is very hectic. Take some time to allow your child to relax and catch their breath to benefit the remainder of the night.

 

When it comes to asking your kids questions about their day, first ask yourself if you have time to listen. Your child is not on the witness stand so refrain from firing one question after another at them. Less can be more when getting information about their day.

 

In addition to Lynn Gibson’s conversation starters mentioned above, a blog from Simple Simon & Company offers up a great list of 25 questions to ask kids, here are a few to get you started:

  • What was the best (and the worst) thing that happened at school today?
  • Who is the funniest person in your class and why is he/she so funny?
  • Tell me something that made you laugh today.
  • What word did your teacher say most today?
  • How did you help somebody today?
  • How did somebody help you today?
  • Is there anyone in your class that needs a time out?
  • Where do you play the most at recess?

Do not get in the habit of asking the same four questions every day or this important conversation will just stall out after the first few days of school and you are back to hearing that nothing happens at school.

 

Sherry Artemenko, MA-CCC, a Speech-language pathologist and founder of playonwords.com, suggests:

  • Art work and activity papers that come home are great conversation starters. In fact, a research study by Marvin and Privratsky (1999) showed that when four-year-old children brought home their art projects, they talked significantly more about school activities than when they did not bring home artwork.
  • Post a copy of the school schedule so you know which day is gym, library day or art. You can ask specific questions about each of those days to keep the conversation going. Example questions may be asking if your child picked out a new library book or asking what they played in gym.
  • Many kids won’t tell you much until they are all tucked in at night. If this is the case for your child, plan this into the schedule so you can enjoy this one-on-one time and discover what may be on your child’s mind.
  • Dr. Charles Fay suggests that kids are more likely to talk when they are engaged in something fun like playing a board game, going on a walk or helping in kitchen. The spot light is off the child to report school happenings and focus is on the activity, which helps them feel comfortable share what they experienced during school.

Providing opportunities for conversations, listening and asking the right questions will foster communication and enhance your relationships with your children. These skills will also help children make their way in the world. For more information on healthy relationships, communication and parenting skills, visit the Michigan State University Extension website.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).