Ambassadors in Hafnarfjörður Kolbrún Oddbergsdóttir og Sjöfn Guðmundsdóttir from Social services in Hafnarfjörður

Families at the turn of century Sigrún Júlíusdóttir Grandparents look old, Often ill and tired 5-10 children A lot of work and toil to feed them all 2000 Grandparents look young, they are vigorous, full of life and participants in society þrótti Not retired Taking courses

Families at the turn of the century p Sigrún Júlíusdóttir (2001) Grandmothers role in the past was: Much work Few comforts Small houses Simpler life Clarified powers Grandmothers role today is: Often at work A lot of appliances Large houses Complicated life, many roles Unclarified power

Families at the turn of the century p Sigrún Júlíusdóttir (2001) Grandparents bear the burdens(p. 167) – Middleage, still working – Babysitting evenings and week ends – Assisting the children getting started in life – Taking care of ageing parents – Sandwich generation

Families at the turn of the century p Sigrún Júlíusdóttir (2001) Two sets of the elderly Grandparents – Young, senior citizens(still healthy, still working having a full social life) Great grandparents -Older, senior citizens (retired, getting weak and in need of more and more service)

Families at the turn of the century p Sigrún Júlíusdóttir (2001),,The healthy man and the frail woman” p.179 What happens when one partner is weak? – Cannot participate... – Hurt and disagreement Who is the recipient of service, both or one of the pair....

Discussions Interested in getting to know the elderly ? – What do we gain? – How much is it worth? – What happens when our parents get old? – What happens when we get old?

Discussions What kind of society do we want when we are old ? 1.Home/housing Environment/access Communication with others ie children, grandchildren, friends 4.Transport/car (when we cannot drive ourselves) 5.Service.....