news
Forget Google, ask your gran
Novel project seeks to use
the wisdom and experience
of seniors.
T
he government is prompting
Australian students looking for
answers to life’s questions to
ask their grandparents before turning
to Google.
More than 150 schools have
registered for Ask Gran Not Google, a
concept driven by aged care provider
Feros Care.
The project aims to forge stronger
links between younger Australians and
older adults.
Students are asked to write or video-
message questions to seniors in their life,
including neighbours, family friends and
aged care residents.
Minister for Senior Australians and
Aged Care Ken Wyatt said the initiative
is a reminder to young people and the
wider community that the internet is
far from the only source of valuable
information in today’s world.
The idea for Ask Gran Not Google came
from Feros Care’s Shelly Fletcher, whose
family banned technology to redirect
questions to grandparents.
“My family is overjoyed that our
little experiment is sparking a much
Nans taking on childcare
Women into their late 80s providing
regular, unpaid childcare duties.
A
ustralia’s grandmothers are typically happy to take on
child-minding duties, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe
from becoming overburdened, the authors of a new
report have reminded families.
Just under two-thirds of women in their mid-60s, and more
than one in 10 in their late 80s, provide regular, unpaid childcare,
the report on the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s
Health found.
Professor Julie Byles, study director at the University of
Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute, said these
efforts often go unrecognised.
8
agedcareinsite.com.au
bigger conversation about the wisdom,
experience and value our seniors can
bring to the lives of young people,”
Fletcher said.
Feros Care chief executive Jennene
Buckley said it’s important that children
are exposed to positive attitudes
about ageing, and added seniors can
help them develop skills to enhance
lifelong learning in ways the internet is
unable to.
“And Ask Gran Not Google is just as
crucial for seniors, as we are seeing
it promote improved health and
wellbeing.”
Buckley said she was “blown away” by
the response from schools.
“We always knew the concept would be
well received but have been overwhelmed
by how quickly teachers have rushed to
sign up since we were able to expand
the program.”
Feros Care is aiming for Ask Gran
Not Google to reach more than 950
schools across four states in the next
three years. ■
“Estimates of economic impact tend to narrowly define informal
caregiving as looking after the ill, disabled or frail and don’t include
childcare,” Byles said.
Still, 90 per cent of grandmothers in one cohort said they were
happy to take care of the kids.
Associate Professor Leigh Tooth from the University of
Queensland said the report also found grandmothers providing
childcare generally felt they were in good health.
“Their self-rated health was higher than non-carers and women
providing care for another adult they lived with,” Tooth said.
“They made fewer GP visits and reported lower levels of anxiety
and depression.”
Despite this sunny outlook, Tooth cautioned against
overburdening grandmothers: “Roughly one in four women in
their 60s are part of the sandwich generation, providing care for
a grandchild as well as an adult who is ill, disabled or frail. When
these women cared for a grandchild and another adult, they were
more likely to be depressed, have higher levels of stress and make
more visits to the GP.”
As one participant put it: “Between helping our daughter
raise the two gorgeous girls, supporting her through a dreadful
divorce ... and the daily challenges of my mother with Alzheimer’s,
my supportive, beautiful husband and I have very little free time
to enjoy our 60s ... All of the above is taking a huge toll on our
physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.”
The report held that more accessible and affordable childcare
options for parents returning to work may reduce the burden on
grandparents of caring for their grandchildren.
The authors also called for more research into the impact of
long-term multigenerational caregiving among those who are
reaching retirement age, and who are experiencing their own
age‑related health issues. ■