Find common ground to connect with older relatives
Dr. Wallace: Why does my grandma watch so much television? I’m a teenager and her granddaughter, but I’m not too much into television at all besides reality TV. This means my grandmother and I have nothing in common when it comes to programs on television.
She also does not like sports on TV, so even when I watch the occasional big sporting event with my friends, family or a guy I might be dating, my grandmother has no interest in this either. I feel bad that the activity she spends most of her waking hours participating in is one that I have nothing in common with her about.
Why does grandma insist upon watching really old reruns of sitcom television shows from many decades ago, or old talk shows like Johnny Carson?
— We Have Little in Common, via email
We Have Little in Common:
The short answer is that your grandmother is comfortable sticking with what she knows. She likely watched many of these shows growing up as a child, a young adult and even a middle-aged woman. For many seniors, the current world moves much too fast and there are many concepts that they are unfamiliar with. Many current popular concepts are easily lost in translation when compared to how things used to be 40 or 50 years ago.
Instead of trying to find television shows in common with grandma, how about inviting her out to a meal or bringing her some special foods that you know she likes?
From there ask her to tell stories about her life and your family history. She likely knows some interesting things about your family tree and this would be a much better bonding activity for you and your grandmother than simply watching television together.
Brother lacks good hygiene
Dr. Wallace: I’m an 18-yearold girl who’s the oldest of four children in our family. My 13-year-old brother is literally filthy all the time, and whenever I tell him he should practice good hygiene, his retort to me is simply, “There’s no reason to since the pandemic is over.”
Of course this frustrates me deeply, but many teenage boys, especially the ones that are at his age are quite headstrong, and he’s no exception. I recall from reading your column previously that there are many reasons why we should wash our hands each and every day several times.
If you can remind me of what they are, I’m going to print out your column and tape it on his bedroom door the first chance I get.
— Clean Older Sister, via email
Clean Older Sister: I wish you good luck with your endeavor. It’s quite true that everyone, especially teenage boys, need to wash their hands frequently to avoid the spread of germs.
Even common colds and flu bugs can often be avoided by regularly using soap and water combined with 30 seconds of good scrubbing.
Tell your younger brother that I recommend that he washes his hands before he handles or eats food, every single time he uses the bathroom, whenever he has recently handled money, after blowing his nose, sneezing or coughing into his hands and after playing with any family pets or pets from any of the neighbors’ homes.
He should already know intuitively that he should wash his hands after he takes out the garbage, but given his age and attitude, I’d add that one to his list as well if I were in your shoes. And if you really want to make an impression with him, buy him some nice soap and leave that at his bedroom door as well.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@ thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com.