Baby Boomer Insights

Motion-sensing lights a perfect solution for boomers who want safety, style

If you've read my blog for any time now, you know that my husband and I have been remodeling our home (replacing floors, painting, updating appliances and bathrooms, etc.). I declared that we were "done" and for the past several weeks, I thought we were.

And then, it happened. I got an email out of the blue one day from Josh Scharf, President of Archetype Ltd in Short Hills, NJ. He wanted to let me know about a product his company had developed that he thought I might be interested in, given this "mission" I was on to remodel. It turns out Josh understands that the boomer generation is his target, since we are leading the trend in home remodeling and are determined to age in place as stylishly as possible.

Am I ever glad he wrote! He even sent me a box containing three PathLights, an automatic radio-frequency lighting system for staircases and hallways. Of course, I had seen lighting systems before, but dismissed them as either too expensive, too ugly, or two "geriatric." In other words, I loved the idea, but did not want to install something that screamed "I'm getting older and can't see in the dark!"

That's important for two reasons: 1) I do have my pride, after all; and 2) we're likely to be among the 55+ crowd that will end up selling  our home to a younger family. (Did you know that 75% of all homes sold by those over 55 are purchased by younger people?) No point in spending money on something that would turn off a potential purchaser.

Now, I would dare someone to tease or question me about these lights! I absolutely love them! They're stylish, very easy to install and work flawlessly. One light serves as the motion-sensing light and tells the other lights to wake up and light your path a few seconds ahead of where you're walking. The lights stay on for one minute, then reset themselves until you're ready to pass by them again. They each use three double-A batteries and you can either install them with screws or simply peel away the sticky back and pop them on in a flash.

PathLights are attractive, easy to dust and the light is bright enough to see by without being so bright as to distract, or perhaps wake someone.

I learned that the Home Shopping Network is selling PathLights for $34.95 for a box of three lights and all installation tools. You can also find them in several catalogs, including Improvements. Or check Amazon.

I sure wish these lights had been available seven years ago when I fell down an entire flight of stairs in the dark (rushing to see my favorite TV show at the time, Judging Amy). I broke my right foot and ended up in a wheel chair for almost 10 weeks! (BTW, the show that night turned out to be a rerun, which I watched while lying in pain in the ER.)

Now that I've tried PathLights, I've thought of several places where I'd like to use them. What's more, I'll be ordering some for my parents, who complain about nightlights being distracting, but are worried about getting out of bed in complete darkness.

So, apparently, I'm not done "remodeling" after all!

Boomers and age-related macular degeneration (AMD): don't accept a disease that can be treated!

We hear a lot about how boomers seek eternal youth and are quick to buy everything from fashions to cosmetic surgery to "invisible" products that stave off signs of aging. Ironically, at the same time, many accept certain conditions as inevitable signs of aging that they can't do something about. This includes hearing, arthritis, and now, it seems, age-related macular degeneration. And yet ALL of these conditions can be treated and their progression slowed before they get worse.

I was surprised by some information I received recently from a colleague (Edelman represents the National Eye Institute) alerting me to a recent study about AMD, age-related macular degeneration.

AMD occurs when the macula – the central portion of the retina that is important for reading and color vision – becomes damaged. There are two forms of AMD – wet and dry. All cases begin as the dry form, but 10 to 15 percent progress to the more serious wet form, which can result in sudden and severe central vision loss. Without treatment, central vision can be lost over time, leaving only peripheral, or side vision.

Apparently, two-thirds of Americans aged 55 or older have had an eye exam within the last year, yet 80 percent do not know that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in people over 60.

According to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, this serious, progressive eye disease has several easy-to-recognize symptoms, and yet only half of survey respondents could identify a single one. What's more, only 46 percent could identify risk factors for AMD.

But here's the real shocker - of the 24 percent who are familiar with AMD, fewer than a third knew that AMD was treatable. The National Eye Institute  estimates that  approximately 15 million people in the United States have AMD, and more than 1.7 million Americans have the advanced form of the disease, known as wet AMD, which is more than cases of glaucoma and cataracts combined.

About 200,000 new cases of wet AMD are diagnosed each year in North America. As a result of the aging baby boomer population, the National Eye Institute estimates that the prevalence of advanced AMD will grow to nearly 3 million by the end of the next decade.

So I was delighted when I learned about Eye On AMD, a web site that teaches visitors about the disease. I spent quite a bit of time on the site and found it incredibly informative and beautifully designed. You can even virtually walk through a house and learn ways to help those with AMD function better on a daily basis. (And for those of you who don't care that much about this topic, but you do want to see a great example of how to design an easy-to-read site, go here.)

I picked up some great tips I'll use with my parents, both of whom have macular degeneration. Since they were in their 80's when they were diagnosed, it never really occured to me that it was anything but an "old person's" condition. Now that I know better, I feel obligated to let my fellow boomers in on this news.

Check out the resources link too - you'll find other ways to learn more about the disease and how it can be treated.

Are you a boomer with AMD? What has been your experience? Let us know if you're seeking treatment and how it's working!

Alzheimer's becomes the defining disease of baby boomers

Several  days ago, a friend of mine who's in his mid-fifties told me that he always puts his car keys in the refrigerator. This struck me as the kind of behavior I've heard about from really stressed out moms and my late grandmother, who died of Alzheimer's, not a hip, successful boomer. But he explained that he did it simply because that's how he reminds himself to take his lunch to work (he prepares his daily lunch each night before going to bed).

It certainly seems like a clever solution to a common problem. Still, I can't help thinking there's no way I'd tell people I do that. It seems every little quirky, unexpected thing like that makes people think, "I wonder if she's losing it."

We boomers live in fear of being diagnosed with Alzheimers. Too many of us have watched our grandparents die with it and some of us are already dealing with parents who are showing signs of dimentia or Alzheimers. Now, there's evidence that our fear is not unfounded. We boomers are actually now regarded as "Generation Alzheimers." One out of every eight of us will die with or from the disease. And unlike other common boomer diseases like diabetes, arthritis, and heart conditions, there's really nothing we can do about it. There's no cure; in fact, there's not even a known way to signficantly slow the progression of the disease.

Many of us will spend our retirement years either fighting Alzheimer's ourselves, or caring for someone who has it.I feel very fortunate that my parents, both in their mid-80s, haven't shown signs of having this awful disease, even though both can be a little forgetful now and then. My mom even jokes that one of the great things about being over 80 is that you no longer have to worry about early onset of Alzheimer's! It's too late!

Recently, the Alzheimer's Association released the results of a study called Generation Alzheimers: the Defining Disease of the Baby Boomers. It's quite enlightening, even scary. According to the findings $172 billion is spent annually on and by the 5.2 million people with Alzheimers! Predictions are that Alzheimer's will cost $20 trillion over the next 40 years. Wow! Moreover, It's the 6th leading cause of death.

Many of us "sort of" joke about having Alzheimer's when we misplace things, forget a loved one's birthday, or have dificulty recalling someone's name.So, I was a bit relieved to discover the association's 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's. Somehow it made me feel more confident that my occasional memory lapses are probably more the result of being 54 and very busy.

Boomers should pay attention to this new study and understand the risk factors of getting Alzheimer's. Turns out that the disease most often strikes after age 65, and 2011 is the first year boomers reach that age. It's not a normal part of aging, though most people do seem to write off forgetfulness as an inevitable part of getting older.

I'd encourage you to check out this important study and stay on top of the signs of this awful disease.

The Cold War fallout shelter: boomers remember a unique part of U.S. history

Like many Americans, I've been watching the situation in Japan with the nuclear reactors with great concen and interest, hoping that things will improve, there's no meltdown, and the people will feel safe again.

The thought of "nuclear fallout" has brought back many memories for me. As a child on a farm in rural South Georgia, we were the only family I knew that had a fallout shelter. That's right - my dad built an underground shelter of concrete walls and a concrete roof. All we had to do was walk several cinder block steps down into the earth, make a left at the bottom of the stairs, then an immediate right and we were in a dark, damp room measuring about 16x18 feet.

In 1957, the year I was born, the Gaither Report was published to inform people of the nuclear strike capabilities of the U.S.S.R. and the United States, and frankly, President Eisenhower felt a responsibility to encourage the building of fallout shelters across the country. The U.S. Department of Defense issued instructions on how to build one. All my patriotic Dad had to do was order the manual, wait two or three weeks for it to arrive, then get to work! Imagine if Facebook, Wikipedia, and YouTube had existed then! Shelter owners could have just told one another what to do, what to avoid and how else the shelter could be used once the fear of war subsided. Today, of course, we're at war with nuclear power plants when we aren't embracing them as a solution to our energy challenges.

Anyway, our family fallout shelter was very simple. There was a single light bulb in the ceiling with a pull chain. In reality, our family of eight couldn't have survived 14 minutes down there, never mind the 14 days the government told us to expect to have to stay underground should a nuclear fallout occur! I wasn't worried, though. I was confident my parents would know exactly what to do and they'd keep us safe.

Meanwhile, we discovered that a fallout shelter also made for an awesome place to play with friends. And my enterprising father figured out that we could take advange of the dark, underground, cool space, which was a perfect environment for storing farm-grown potatoes.

Ten years ago, shortly after 9/11, I read that underground shelters and in-home bunkers were regaining popularity as Americans looked for anything they could do to keep their families safe. This new incident has caused yet another uptick in people fearing the worst and trying to prepare for it.

Ironically, my father filled in the fallout shelter with dirt and sealed it permanently several years ago. Why? Because as a grandfather, he thought it was the safest thing to do. He didn't want the grandchildren to fall down the steps or get hurt (or even bitten by a snake) while playing in the big dark hole.

So, we've come full circle. That which was supposed to protect children by being readily available became the thing that could harm them by being readily available.

As I'm writing this, it occurs to me that I still haven't met a boomer who had a fallout shelter at home as a child. Or maybe I just didnt' know that tidbit about them because it was a distant memory nobody thought to mention. How about you?  Did your family have a fallout shelter? What are your memories of that time?

 

 

 

Advertisers are finally looking to target boomer TV watchers: we're worth more!

I turned 54 this weekend and one of the conversations I ended up having with a fellow boomer was over favorite TV shows. I could rattle mine off easily: "The Good Wife,"  "Harry's Law," "The Big Bang Theory," "60 Minutes," "48 Hours Mystery," "Men of a Certain Age," "Glee," and "Criminal Minds." These are shows I deem worth recording, lest I'm tied up with something and can't see them at the time they air. And I'll watch almost anything on HGTV, though I rarely record it.

Well, it turns out I'm a a new target for advertisers. In fact, TV networks are charging advertisers MORE to reach boomers than the 18-49 year old group, considered traditionally the most coveted demographic. Why? Because boomers (47-65 this year) now control half of all U.S. consumer spending AND we watch a disproportionate amount of TV.

Our power extends to who is staring in shows as well. Consider Modern Family, showcasing Ed O'Neil as the patriarc, or Tom Selleck as the anchor for "Blue Bloods." And of course, let's not forget Kathy Bates as the "Harry" in "Harry's Law."

Network executives are handpicking talented "older" actors, then telling advertisers to pay attention because their fans (people like me), are willing to try new brands, take vacations, spend on our families, buy technology and postpone retirement. Ignore us at your peril.

According to Neilson, we watch an average of 170 hours a month, or about five hous a day. And most of us use  DVRs and stream shows online. I absolutely believe that, judging form my own viewing patterns and those of many of my peers.

Neilson also notes that 60% of viewers of The Good Wife are 55+, and similar demographics show up for Dancing With The Stars and Glee.

Last year, NBC's Universal did a study of what they called Alpha Boomers, 55-64, and determined they spend $1.8 trillion on food, cars, personal care and technology, furthering proving the point that boomers are a great target for many advertisers.  

So, boomers, let's take advantage of our position now. Buy from companies that support the shows you like and complain to the network when you think we aren't well represented on shows. We have the power (which we acquired, btw, it wasn't given to us), so use it!

How about you? What are your favorite shows? Favorite sponsors of those shows?