Daily HealthBeat Tip

What the kids know

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Sometimes, the generation gap between aging parents and their adult children can be a chasm. Psychologist Brian Carpenter of Washington University in St. Louis surveyed parents and children about parent preferences on such issues as help with daily living, medical care, and funeral preparation.

His findings, which were published in the newsletter of the American Psychological Association, were supported by HHS� Administration on Aging.

"Some children were very accurate at estimating their parents answers while some children were so poor that you might have been as accurate to ask any random person on the street." (12 seconds)

To make these sensitive conversations go easier, Carpenter suggests:

Holding them early, before situations become stressful.
And following up with talk later.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January 20, 2005

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