HoweEnterprise.com
December 28, 2020
Financially Supporting Your Elderly Parents Hi Taylor: My siblings and I have been talking about how to help my parents navigate their remaining Taylor years. They’re in their 80s and Kovar have some money but not a lot. Any advice? Hey Scott: That’s great that it’s become a family affair. It’s tough to watch these decisions fall on one person, so I’m glad you have siblings to share the load. You can do a lot to help make this transition easier for your parents. If you’re just starting the process, here are a few things to focus on. Guide them through a relocation. There are a lot of reasons for elderly people to move. Sometimes it’s for safety, other times for companionship, and many times just to cut costs. Whatever the reason, the most important thing you can do is handle all the little things that make it a pain. Moving is hard for everyone - it’s especially hard for people who have lived in one place for decades and now have to change their routine. Take care of the phone and cable, setting up the room, every detail you can manage. Help your folks focus on the exciting parts of the move (making new friends!) and dwell less on the scary parts (change!). Help with budgeting. If possible, help your parents stop spending on products and services they used to love in their 50s but no longer actually use or need. New expenses can be pretty troubling for anyone set in his or her ways, but if you show them how rent or a new car payment can be offset
by ditching some unnecessary spending, the adjustment becomes much easier. Be on call. The hardest thing for you and your siblings might be the most helpful for your parents. After so many years of independence, it’s tough to become dependent on the children you raised. Mom and dad might have some hesitancy to call for help even when it’s a simple issue that you could fix in a couple minutes. Stop by as often as you can to make sure all the remotes are working properly and the windows open and close without too much trouble. Those small jobs make a big difference in a person’s daily life; try your best to stay on top of what tasks and errands need doing. This can be a hard time for everyone involved. It requires a lot of patience and attentiveness, but it’s the most rewarding type of work there is. Wishing you and your family the best! Legal Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.com or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901.
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Living with children Q: Our son is seven years old and in the second grade. His school went virtual this past Spring and we see no end to it, John not in the near Rosemond term at least. When he was going to a brick-and-mortar schoolhouse, he did very well. Close to the top of his class, in fact. Ever since last spring, however, he’s been in a slow decline. I have to stand over him to get him to do anything. His work is sloppy and his attitude is care-less. When I brought this up to his teacher, she got the school psychologist involved. She says he’s exhibiting signs of ADHD and needs to be tested. I don’t like where this is going. Should I let them test him or not? A: it.
I strongly advise against
You and your son are in grave danger of becoming ensnared in The Protocol, which consists of a sham process that almost invariably results in a sham diagnosis that almost invariably leads to a medication that has never reliably outperformed placebos in clinical trials. Test, diagnose, medicate – that’s The Protocol, and the diagnosis in question is ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Although the mental health establishment claims that ADHD is a neurologically-based disorder involving such unproven things as biochemical imbalances and brain differences, the standard diagnostic test battery includes neither a neurological exam nor an analysis of the child’s nervous system chemistry. The diagnosis of ADHD is made strictly on the basis of behavior, which essentially means the tests are superfluous, given in order to create the false impression that the diagnostic process is scientific. The fact is that once a child has been identified, the diagnosis is all but a given.
No one has ever conclusively proven that ADHD is – as claimed by nearly every online medical narrative – a “disease.” The behaviors – short attention span, impulsivity, etc. – are certainly verifiable, but the connection between the behavior and a disease has never been established. The disease model is invoked so as to justify prescribing medications that, to repeat, have never reliably outperformed placebos in clinical trials. In effect, the medications in question are costly placebos with unpredictable side effects including appetite suppression, anxiety, and depression. In the long run, “treatment” often consists solely of changing and adjusting said medication on a regular basis. Once a child is placed on the merry-go-round that defines The Protocol, there is likelihood that he may never get off. I personally know folks who were diagnosed in elementary school and are still taking meds in their thirties. Furthermore, once a child has been identified, the pressure to get on the merry-go-round can be relentless. I encourage you not to go there. Hire a tutor. If you’re able and feel up to it, pull him out of school and homeschool him. Enroll him in a private brick-andmortar school. Move to the Fiji Islands. Even if there was scientific validity to the diagnosis, the fact that your son had no problems in a three-dimensional classroom means he is suffering from nothing besides a combination of boredom and screen fatigue. He doesn’t need a diagnosis. He needs a classroom. Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, p arentguru.com. John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology. In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.
