ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

Perhaps one bright spot is the number of young voters that have turned out for Barack Obama. Let's hope that they continue their involvement and advocate for their own children's welfare and for policies that support families, the earth, diplomacy and not war. Let's hope (and vote).

Thank you for beginning a dialogue on an issue that we must address in a broader framework - namely: The Reinvention of Neighborhood and Community. The emphasis in the reinvention should be focused on the many ways communities/neighborhoods have uncovered what for me is the major theme: SHARING AND CARING. We should begin to focus more heavily in demonstrating how the quality of life effects all generations as we connect and reconnect in our local settings. This is not limited to early childhood or the 55 to 155 year old population but all generations and the "infra-structure" of the local neighborhood that we have created. Perhaps together we should examine what our common needs are if we were to share and care for one another. Of course we have in the past created such models as the Kibbutz, Co-housing, Cooperative Housing, and now condominium living, as well as retirement communities. The majority of the developments do not address the humane quality of life aspects. Can we begin to create a common examination with such groups as NAEYC, AARP, GENERATIONS TOGETHER, Child Welfare League and other. Why not devote an Exchange Issue looking at the promising SHARING AND CARING practices in this country as well as abroad. I will be glad to work with a group examining this issue.

Thank you Monchrief for beginning the conversation. And thank you Bonnie and Roger for making it possible for us to speak out!

I look forward to the continued dialogue....

Ed Klugman

A number of people have expressed concern about the excerpt from my book "Finding Our Way: The Future of American Early Care and Education", in which I flag the possibility that the elders making up the 'baby boom' generation may compete with young children for scarce public resources. Unfortunately Exchange Every Day did not include the full quote from my book. The piece they excerpted (without asking me) was followed by the following:

"Although the challenges posed by greater demand for early care and education and increased competition from elders for scarce public resources are great, the graying of America also represents a window of opportunity. Many of these seniors will have grandchildren, whose welfare will be of great concern to them. If addressed sensitively, these sentiments could be translated by early care and education advocates into a powerful voice for improvements in the ECE services available to young children."

I agree with all those who responded by saying that elders and children can both be supported with public resources, and that the oldest generation can be a wonderful resource to the youngest. However, this will require very intentional planning by all of us. In the absence of such intentionality I worry about the possible consequences of gnerational competition, especially given the fact that children don't vote.

Retirement is not necessarily a happy time for many people - the loss of sense of worth and social connections can bring on depression when it's least expected. There are many studies showing the health benefits of maintaining part time or voluntary work in retirement - so couldn't they greying generation be a great souce of part time childcare staff? Most of them will have raised their own children, they have unbeatable life experience, and it provides the kids with an intergenerational connection that may be missing from many of their lives. Going to daycare could be just like going to nanna's!

I would like to see a response from the author. Why does she believe that funds for elder care specifically are threatening ECE funding, rather than other big ticket expenditures (ex: current military debacle; plans for erecting a wall between the US and Mexico, etc.)? Would not many of the measures pursued by older voters also aid young children, such as "improved health care services"? Knowing that many of our nation's grandparents either provide full-time care for children or fill in the gaps where working parents cannot afford full-time paid care, I feel that it only benefits children when their caretakers are also physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially healthy as well.

I'm afraid our government, whichever party rules in the White House in the next few decades, will use articles exactly like this one to create a "generational war" where none should exist. Neither side should feel defensive of its position. We should all bombard our senators and congresspersons with ideas for cost-effective ways of meeting all of the needs of ALL of this country's citizens. The waste in government spending is appalling. If we continue to support politicians who do not deal with the day-to-day issues of our lives, instead of their own campaign-finance agendas, we will get exactly what we deserve--under-served children AND elders. Put the blame where it belongs.

Who gets the money? That is the bottom line. We should not cut the Elder's money, because they have little to work with. We should not cut into the ECE funds because we have little to work with too! I think both groups should merge, come together, & maybe work on a plan of action.

Both age groups need and deserve services. As a director of a 501-c-3/public charity CDC I for one would welcome the connection between the two generations, more inter-generational facilities may help to ease the burden for services on these two very important groups.

I am an elder and I think it is wrong to pit one generation's needs against the other.

The author needs to walk a mile in the shoes of those whom she seeks to use in comparing the inequities of funding for children. The problem with this American culture is that Elders are not respected as they are in other cultures. Therefore, we often need outside help. Children are also not respected, they need outside help also, there is no denying that fact.

However, we Elders are not throw-aways. We cannot be "cut back" in funding for our needs. We have genuine needs.As do kids.

There are many other "fundings" that could be cut back ,such as pork barrell and military expenditures--to name just a few.

We Elders didn't come this far on our own, by the way. Activist organizations on behalf of Elders paved the way. The same must happen for kids. But don't make it a political issue!

It is very dangerous to set up an arguement that takes away from one needy population to advocate for another. Are elderly people truly less valuable to us then children? Is that the dialogue we want to hold? We need to build a society where every person who needs, no matter what age, gets taken care of. We need to build a society where the lottery funds the defense department and taxes take care of children and the elderly and those in need of health care, etc., etc. Do not pit one age group against another. All will lose.

Rather than pose the issue of underfunding as one of competing with elder services, why not mention the astronomical military spending as a drain on resources that could best be applied to early learning?
The "baby boomers" are going to need every penny of elder care they can get, with the numbers there will be!
Cut the waste in the military to fund early education needs.

couldn't agree more with the previous commenters. You go Helen Looman!

First of all yes, kids don't vote. That is why they have all adults voting for them. This argument is lame, look at all the school programs out there!

I have a further thought. How many future retirees, not baby boomers but that next generation down the pike will be retiring with very low incomes due to the fact that they are now working with no retirement?

We need empathy across the generations. This article was short sighted in the extreme.

I find it very troubling that this article is set to ignite a generational war. Instead of seeing it as an "us versus them", I think a better approach is to work towards universal health care and preventive services at all age levels. It also posits older adults as being a drain on the economy, when in fact, they provide a potentially huge economic boon to the economy.

Older adults are continuing to work past what was considered "retirement age" for the last generation - this puts a huge amount of extra dollars into the public pot via income taxes. Furthermore, this generation owns the majority of businesses in this country --they are the cornerstone of our economic vitality. Add into this the huge contribution of older adults in the civic arena via volunteerism. Who is picking up the slack and caring for grandchildren when parents either can't or won't parent effectively? Who do you think is going to spend time mentoring and tutoring our youngsters in the future? Who will be doing fundraising for a wide variety of causes, including those targeted to young children?

I don't see it as a pie that is continually cut into smaller pieces. I think we need to rethink our national priorities and together make a bigger, better pie/social net for all of our vulnerable citizens.

lets find a way to combine the two needs. Care for elderly and care for children.

I agree that there will be some stress involved in providing services for all of us "baby boomers". I also agree that we have invested heavily, of ourselves, our time, our hearts, in caring for the youngest of us in society. As with the comments above, do not start a "young vs. old" arguement or war. That benefits neither group, nor society in general. Rather we must use our collective resources and find ways to stretch the funds we have for each group.

Our intergenerational program is doing just that. Shared space, cross trained staff, community committment, and best practices for each end of the life spectrum - that is what we need to be focusing on. Not whether some early education program "beat out" funding from a "senior program".

Perhaps CCIE might do an entire issue on those of us who are joining together to address the needs of children and elders?

While I understand the concern over the aportionment of Federal funds, I find it disturbing (as one of those Baby Boomers) that everyone is looking aghast at the amount of funding it will take to cover our Social Security payments, etc.
What I take issue with is the decades of hard work that fed into the coffers of our Government (that same HUGE number that is now concerning others as to what we will require) We paid IN more than any preceeding generation. Why is it considered an evil to give back what is rightfully ours?
It should be obvious, from my employment with Head Start, that I have a vested interest in the care of the child....especially the young child, ...but I I believe that instead of using the upcoming senior generation as a rallying point for wresting funds from their (sure-to-come) increasing demands, we need to be educating our elected representatives to the needs of the young child AND our senior generation, and decry the use of federal funds to support studies on the sex life of the frog (hope fully not a real study, but representative of all those inane studies that DO take up so much of our public funds).
Please, please, please, give us old fogies a break and realize our worth and investment into this country. Many of us have been working full time since we applied at the county courthouse for a work permit at thirteen...many times working at more than two jobs just to make ends meet. We have birthed, nurtured, and trained the doctors, nurses, teachers, parents of today, and helped with the raising of their children. We took those first baby steps into the unknown vastness of space, the microscopic world of the computer, the unraveling of the mysteries of human genomes.
The "heathens" of the world have a greater respect for those who have walked the path before them, than our self-involved present "rulers".
Have a care....we will all walk the same path.

pitting one group (elders) against another (young children) is in no one's best interest. both groups face daunting financial challenges and both deserve our national policy attention. efforts to bring children and elders together in intergenerational programs are very successful and can be a model that would help meet the needs of both groups. hand-wringing over finite resources instead of solutions wastes precious time.

I am an elder, as well as interested in early childhood education. I resent the notion that elder care and child care have to be pitted against each other.

Have you, the author, walked a mile in the shoes of an elder?

Katherine Cleland