[A] Healing power from the young.

[B] A harmful practice out of human weakness.

[C] Who should take the burden of looking after our old people？

[D] A cure to loneliness found in kids.

[E] Comfort typical of a multigenerational family.

[F] Benefit of extended age groups.

Until late in 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of all generations. Now baby boomers may not have much contact with old people until they're relatively old themselves.

1. ______

That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why？ We segregate the old for many reasons: prejudice, ignorance, a lack of good alternatives. Younger people sometimes avoid the old to evade fears of aging and dying. Death is easier to bear in the abstract. It's much harder to watch someone we love fade before our eyes. Sometimes it's so hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most.

2. ______

But there are problems with this age-segregation experiment. Ten 14-year-olds grouped together will form. a Lord of the Flies culture--competitive and mean. But ten people ages two to 80 grouped together will fall into a natural age hierarchy that nurtures and teaches them all. For our own mental and social health, we need to reconnect the age groups. Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

3. ______

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. "My children have never been less lonely," the reporter said.

4. ______

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed comatose woke up to watch the child. Babies have an amazing power to comfort and heal.

5. ______

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from harried parents. "My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which kids have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

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