Ep 89: 6 Tips for Managing Kids in Intergenerational Senior Living Programs
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Release Date: 08/28/2025
Ep 90: Bringing Kids together with Assisted Living Residents – Is it a bad idea?
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Recently I implmenented the GKI Kit at an assisted living. It was exciting, but don't et me wrong, I had fears! Would kids want to hang out with residents? Would these residents be alert and willing to converse? Will the connection happen? Will the kids complain and be bored? Will that hour be forever? In this episode I discuss the fears that I had in implementing an intergenerational program. “With great risk comes great reward – Thomas Jefferson 🎧 Show Notes: 📸 Connect on Instagram: 📖 Read The Value of Wrinkles: ...
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Ep 89: 6 Tips for Managing Kids in Intergenerational Senior Living Programs
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
This episode is designed for senior living and senior care organizations looking to create meaningful intergenerational programs. How can you keep both kids and older adults safe, engaged, and connected during activities in assisted living or long-term care? Isabel shares six practical tips for scheduling and managing intergenerational programming so it benefits children, parents, and residents alike. You’ll also hear how she is currently implementing her Grandkid Investigator concept in assisted living and long-term care communities to strengthen connections across generations. ...
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Ep 88: Where Are the Children? Why Kids Rarely Visit Senior Living Communities
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Why don’t kids visit senior living communities more often? In this thought-provoking episode, we dive into a surprising truth: many senior care communities are hesitant to welcome children—despite the well-known benefits of intergenerational connection. As a mom, aunt, coach, and longtime advocate for bridging generations, I share insights from my experience working with assisted living and nursing homes across the U.S. and Canada. Does it make sense or does it surprise you? This isn’t about criticism—it’s about understanding the barriers that make child-friendly senior communities...
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Ep 87 - Why Updating Your Older Loved One Matters: From Summer Camp to Sourdough Starters
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
While my daughter’s away at summer camp and my husband’s camping with our boys, you’d think I’d be enjoying some rare alone time—but honestly, I just want to hear from them. In this episode, I reflect on how something as simple as a letter or a quick update can mean everything—whether you’re a kid at camp or a parent later in life. I also share a fun camp letter-writing hack and my second chance with this sourdough starter that I got from an older friend. This one’s all about staying connected, being remembered, and why little updates matter so much—especially as we age....
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Ep 86: How Different Experiences Build Stronger Grandkid/Grandparent Bonds
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Today we're talking about how shared experiences like family vacations can be beneficial because they allow us to spend time with family in different settings. Highlights: If you want to speed up the bond between the grandkids and the grandparents spend time together in different scenarios. How spending time together in general helps us bond with others. Our family’s first cruise and how we spent it with grandma Our kids’ first plane ride and how we experienced it with grandma How shared experiences help us view others in a better light Missions trips, roomates, sports teams ...
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Ep 85: Another Side of the Story: My Cousins Jeremy Reflects on Our Grandparents
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
You’ve heard my stories about our grandparents—now it’s time to hear from my cousin Jeremy! He grew up in Canada and didn’t see them as often, but his memories of Mama and Yeye (or Poh Poh and Goong Goong to him) are just as special. It’s a sweet reminder that even if you live far from your grandparents, you can still have a meaningful connection. FREE MISSION: Grab a free mission from the Grandkid Investigator Kit at ! Check out the Grandkid Investigator Kit: https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/gkifam 🎧 Show Notes: 📸 Connect on Instagram: ...
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Ep 84: Helping Neurodivergent Kids Connect with Grandparents (Part 2 with Kim Botto)
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
How do you explain autism or ADHD to a grandparent who just doesn’t get it yet? In this episode, Isabel Tom sits down with Kim Botto—a seasoned educator, speaker, and grandmother of eleven—to talk about how to help older generations understand neurodivergence in kids. This is part 2 of our conversation. With decades of experience in trauma-informed care and family ministry, Kim shares practical tips, heartfelt stories, and gentle language that grandparents can use to better connect with their neurodivergent grandkids. You’ll hear about her personal journey connecting with her...
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Ep 83: Helping Neurodivergent Kids Connect with Grandparents (Part 1 with Kim Botto)
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Do you have a child with autism, ADHD, or sensory needs—and wonder how to help them build a real connection with their grandparents? In this powerful episode of The Value of Wrinkles, host Isabel Tom shares her personal journey of discovering ADHD as an adult and parenting children who are wired differently. She’s joined by Kim Botto, a trauma-informed parenting expert and TBRI Practitioner®, to talk about how families can support neurodivergent children in forming meaningful, joy-filled relationships with their grandparents. 🎙️ You’ll hear: · ...
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Ep 82: How Grandkid Investigator Missions Helped My 8-year-old Learn What Grandma Really Wants
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Listen to a yahoo moment from doing the Grandkid Investigator Kit with my son. In this episode I share how my son learned about his grandma’s routine and helped me know how to plan his grandma’s next birthday celebration. Highlights: 3:35 - What happens when we teach our kids to ask questions 4:09 - The importance of helping our kids have conversation with grandparents 5:05 What my son told me that will help us celebrate his grandma’s birthday better! 5:56 – How we typically celebrate birthdays for older people "When you ask them, you honor them." Links mentioned: Get a tool to help...
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Ep 81: The Daughter Penalty - Is It Real?
Value of Wrinkles: Caregiving, Aging & Intergenerational Connection
Have you ever heard of the “daughter penalty”? Maybe not by name, but I bet you’ve felt it. It’s also called the caregiving penalty, and it’s the cost—financial, emotional, and mental—that often comes when daughters step up to care for their aging parents. So, whether you’re a daughter doing it all, a son who wants to understand better, or someone who just loves someone in this season—this episode is for you. Highlights: 3:22 – Why people want daughters and the belief that daughters are viewed as better caregivers. 5:05 – Brothers and spouses and how they may step...
info_outlineThis episode is designed for senior living and senior care organizations looking to create meaningful intergenerational programs. How can you keep both kids and older adults safe, engaged, and connected during activities in assisted living or long-term care?
Isabel shares six practical tips for scheduling and managing intergenerational programming so it benefits children, parents, and residents alike. You’ll also hear how she is currently implementing her Grandkid Investigator concept in assisted living and long-term care communities to strengthen connections across generations.
Highlights:
3:08 - The best time to schedule intergenerational programming in senior living
4:39 – Statistics to look at if you live in the state of Maryland
5:25 – Why the Grandkid Investigator program was implemented this August
8:28 – How supervision makes for a better program
10:29 – Tip #3 (structure and routine) and how it minimizes chaos
Links mentioned:
- Look at flu levels right now in the U.S. https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/usmap.html
- Look at MD Dept of Health website for statistics on flu activity. https://health.maryland.gov/phpa/influenza/pages/flu-dashboard.aspx
- If you want to bring the Grandkid Investigator program to your senior living community or have a group that would like to use this concept, contact Isabel at https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/contact
- Learn about using the Grandkid Investigator Concept in your own family at https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/gkifam.
🎧 Show Notes: https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/listen
📸 Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelctom/
📖 Read The Value of Wrinkles: https://www.amazon.com/Value-Wrinkles-Perspective-Loving-Change/dp/0802419534
📬 Join the email list: https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/signup
🎤 Invite Isabel to speak: https://www.valueofwrinkles.com/speaking