Does your mom or dad take care of a loved one (perhaps one cares for the other)? Do you have a relative who cares for a loved one who is aging? Do you know what your parents or relatives are going through? Your family member is in a new role of caregiver when helping a loved one with things he/she cannot do because of aging or a medical condition’s disabling effects. How do you better support your relative during this time?

Caregiving Relationships: Conversations on Aging, is a program for adult children supporting their aging caregiver parents or other loved ones. The program will be held on Tuesday, October 18th, 2016, 6:30 – 8:45 pm at the Cass County Extension office, 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic.

Research shows that spousal caregivers are more likely to provide care with help from adult children than to accept help from community supports or non-family members. Kim Brantner, Human Science Specialist in Family Life, says“You are a son or daughter to your parent(s) regardless of age, but your role description can change when your parent is in the role of a caregiver. The program helps adult children learn to recognize how caregiving affects relationships. It helps them discover their role in making decisions about their parents’ later life.” It also helps adult children build talking and listening skills and gain ideas on how to start difficult conversations.

The Caregiving Relationships course is the first of several opportunities Cass County Extension is offering to address family caregiving and healthy aging issues in the coming year. The next learning opportunity is the Powerful Tools for Caregivers program, a series of six, 2-1/2 hour classes designed especially for family caregivers. The series starts on Thursday, November 3 and continues weekly on Tuesdays November 10, 17, December 1, 8, and 15. There is no class on Thanksgiving. The six week series will be also be held at the Cass County Extension Office in Atlantic.

There is no cost to attend the Caregiving Relationships workshop on October 18th, but pre-registration is requested by Friday, October 14th. For more information on either program, or to register, contact Cass County Extension at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu. A brochure with more information is also available on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.