Many trends seem to find their way to the United States via Europe.  Here is one we hope stays in France.

Last week both France and Italy saw people take to the streets to protest their respective governments’ decisions to curtail education spending.  Obviously, this is an issue that mostly affects the young.  Peaceful demonstrations were held in both countries, though there is obvious passion behind the marches.  Today, the French have taken to the streets once more — this time rioting over a governmental decision to raise the age at which retirement benefits may kick in.  The age will be raised from 60 to 62.  And not all the rioters are young.

This is clearly an issue of federal governmental resource.  What happens when dearly held provisions have to be stopped due to a lack of available funds?  What happens when generations stop blaming the government?  Will they turn in on each other?

The Chinese have it right on this one…if we want a life’s worth of happiness, we need to help the next generations.

1.  Let go of our own generational centrism

It has been written, “Humor helps us to think out of the box. The average child laughs about 400 times per day, the average adult laughs only 15 times per day. What happened to the other 385 laughs?”  It’s absolutely vital that we catch our own “gen-centric” thoughts and begin to laugh at them…at least to ourselves.  Once we can laugh at these thoughts and at our own silliness, then we can free ourselves of always seeing life solely through our own generational standpoint. 

Look for Part 4 (the last of the series) on Thursday

In many ways it seems the economic downturn in the United States has been a fairly equal opportunity unemployer, affecting poor and rich, men and women as well as people of all ethnicities.  However, new data from the US Census Bureau suggests that the recession has been anything but equal in the effects upon generations of US residents.

The Census Bureau’s annual living standards report found that inflation-adjusted incomes fell 4.8% in the past decade for the median household.  Median household incomes fell most sharply from 2007-2009 at a 4.2% clip.  This while those 65 and older saw an increase in real median income of 5.8% over the past decade, mostly due to stabilization tied to Social Security, which has been unaffected by the recession to date.

Those feeling the crunch the most — young adults and young families.  Within the 25-34 year-old age group, nearly 43% have fallen below the monetary poverty threshold – slightly under $12,000 for an individual and $22,000 for a family of four.  Child poverty is on a steep rise with a 2.5% increase for children under six in just one year (2008 to 2009).

I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions about how to interpret the statistics.  This much seems obvious.  The data give a stark reminder to look beyond our own life stages to see those in other generations whose experience of the same event may be far different than our own.

“To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children”…yes, it should be both/and – not either/or.   I love that quote.  Give yourself permission to be winsome to as many people in as many stages of life as you possibly can.  Sure, you’ll connect with some better than others, but you may be surprised which ones repond best!

Many people don’t connect the celebration of life with assisted living communities.  This week, Elmcroft Assisted Living in Roswell, GA is asking “Why not?”  They have invited the family and friends of all generations to join them for a special week of activities called “Living Life.”  They are celebrating National Assisted Living Week (Sept. 12-17) with something for everyone. 

Ice cream (who doesn’t go for that!) off an ice cream truck,  a petting zoo, a resident art and collectibles show, a history of Roswell presentation, family photo sessions, and a school spirit day headline the events.  Why shouldn’t senior living facilities draw people from all walks of life to celebrate living?  Way to go, Elmcroft!  That’s a sure way to help your residents laugh often and much as well as to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children!

The multi-generational home is on the rise — mostly due to economic factors.  And now grandparents, who thought they were getting ready for an extended period on their own, are turning their attention to family.  10 percent of children in the US live with grandparents.  Over 40 percent of those same children are experiencing grandparents as the primary care givers.  For the full story, check this Pew Social Trends link.  http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/764/more-children-being-raised-by-grandparents-great-recession

No doubt this is an unexpected consequence of the current recession and the social climate as we know it.  Sure, there are mixed feelings about the situation.  Children sometimes feel they are missing out on a “normal” childhood with their parents.  Grandparents sporadically wish they were enjoying more freedom from responsibility in their grandparenting years.  It’s a challenge, but a challenge that many grandparents and grandchildren facing together well.

If you are on the same “team” as a multi-generational family there are several things you can do to help them stay strong.  You become the secondary defense…those who run down ball-carriers who break through the front-line.  Get to know the family well.  Offer some “relief” time by taking over chores or other duties for the day.  Invite them to functions that you are already going to — multi-generational homes are on the rise, but grandparents often feel out of the loop with other parents.  Let your creativity and the strength of your relationships guide you as you backup grandpa and grandma linebacker!

If you’ve been wondering if Baby Boomer attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are going to show up in their maturing years as much as they have in previous eras — this might just go a long way toward making the case that they will.

What do  the following communities have in common?  Williamsburg, VA; Duluth, MN; Athens, GA; Ashland, OR; Brunswick, ME; Ames, IA and Hanover, NH? 

For starters, they are all college or university towns — and this, perhaps surprisingly for many, leads to another commonality.  They are all on the Money 2010 list of best places to retire.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1009/gallery.best_places_retire.moneymag/2.html

Not many of the traditional retirement hotspots made the list…a couple in Arizona and only one community in Florida — but that’s it.  The new hotspots for early retirees are not stand-alone senior communities.  They are either houses or communities that are embedded within an intergenerational community…and the best of the best right now are in college and university towns.

So the next time you visit your alma mater, don’t be surprised to find a growing community of maturing adults who are enjoying the benefits of being back near or even on campus.

How many times have you heard, “Just when I thought I had seen it all, ______ happened.”?  Not only have I heard it, much to my dismay, I have said it.  There’s always something new and different going on somewhere, it only we know how to look.  And that’s certainly the case in senior community living models.  Satchel is serving up several new pitches — some of which are aimed to build relationships intergenerationally as opposed to the more traditional generational pitches.

University-based communities seem to have the jump start on intentially intergenerational community-building.  Of our 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, 100 of them have some form of senior community integrated into the life of the campus…making life more diverse and interesting for both maturing-adult residents and traditional students.  This intergenerational change up is growing in popularity as maturing-adults are looking for ways to contribute to their communities and educational institutions are seeing the benefits of having them on their campuses.

And this is just one of many new intergenerational pitches coming down the pike for this generation!

Have you ever been involved in an organization that is experiencing culture shift?  Have you experienced a place where the collective ways of thinking and acting are being challenged — whether intentionally or not?  When you became aware of the shift, what was your response?  Granted, it depends upon whether the cultural change is a positive one (both in reality and from your perspective).

When you think of senior communities or skilled care facilies, what kinds of organizational cultures do you imagine?  Organizationally-driven or People-driven?  Formal or informal?  Isolating or connecting?

It is our answer to these questions that either propels us toward engagement with our friends in these communities or toward distancing ourselves.  Demographic trends and professional awareness of the issues are putting increasing pressure on senior communities of various stripes to reconsider what it means to build human community and to create environments where elders (and others) can be at home and be productive.   Significant efforts to promote better living cultures are being overseen nationally by the Pioneer Network – www.pioneernetwork.net.

If you are contemplating just how and where you want to live in your mature adult years, remember the importance of culture in your decision.  It is a factor you will be living with that affects your satisfaction and capacity to carry out your mission to the fullest every day.  Utilize our services and expertise in researching community culture at MATURITY BRIDGE.  We can craft a plan just for you that will give you the information you need to make the best decision for your future.