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Simple Things (Really Simple) To Keep Kids Busy, From Age Six to After Fourteen
Julia Sneden wrote: Here are some ideas to engage slightly older children. The same principles pertain: keep a healthy ratio between passive (as in watching videos or TV) and active activities (ones in which the child must use more than his receptive senses; things that involve his body as well as his mind). For older children, I'd suggest being sure you have playing cards, board games like Parcheesi, checkers, chess, and backgammon, and some sports equipment on hand. Editor's Note: At Camp Gray, all 3 grandchildren made pj pants, including our grandson, using our sewing machine. more »
Using Special Nails to Save Roofs — and Dollars; "People are waking up and looking at sheetrock in their house instead of the sky"
New roofs are coming to Africatown, a hamlet of crumbling shotgun houses amid ancient pecan trees northwest of Mobile Bay. The replacements, many of which will go to the neighborhood’s poor and aging homeowners, are being paid for by a first-of-its-kind state grant program that aims to lower homeowners' insurance rates and reinforce Alabama homes against future windstorms. Alabama officials, like state and local leaders around the country, expect disaster recovery costs to continue to grow as people live in vulnerable areas and climate change increases the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. more »
Older Population and Diversity Still Growing, Census Bureau Reports: Residents age 65 and over grew from 35.0 million in 2000, to 49.2 million in 2016
New detailed estimates show the nation's median age rose from 35.3 years on April 1, 2000, to 37.9 years on July 1, 2016. "The baby-boom generation is largely responsible for this trend," said Peter Borsella, a demographer in the Population Division. more »
Driving Over 65? CR Selects Best New Cars for America’s Record Number of Senior Motorists
Although there are challenges, including physical and/or cognitive limitations that may come with old age, senior drivers crash less (per mile) than teens, according to data reviewed by CR. And perhaps surprisingly, a CR survey of nationwide drivers revealed that older motorists (ages 75+) were less likely than younger ones to report difficulties and errors in the previous six months such as difficulty merging into traffic or changing lanes, driving through a stop sign or red light, accidentally putting the car in reverse instead of drive, or having difficulty adjusting to faster traffic around them. more »
