I just read an article in the WSJ about a study that "found a 55% greater risk fo heart disease among grandmothers who care for their grandchildren." Okay, that sucks. Later in the article, we find the following,
"This is a dramatic and important finding," says scientist Meredith Minkler, of the University of California at Berkeley's School of Public Health. "These grandparents might constitute a vulnerable group of hidden patients whose healthcare needs to be attended to by physicians and policy makers alike."Now hold on here, Scientist Minkler. What exactly do policy makers have to do with this? Do we need a law that makes sure my mom goes to the doctor more often if she babysits my kids? Maybe my employer should have to chip in for my mom's health insurance. Or maybe we need to put a tracking bracelet on grandma so she doesn't spend more than the safe amount of hours near her grandchildren. "Sorry Gran, you can't come over today. You've exceeded your kiddie care allotment for the fourth straight week. Not safe, you know. Better cancel Christmas. That'll overdo it for sure." Or better yet, it'll be my fault. Granny's just the victim, you see. What sort of policy could possibly add anything good to this situation? I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for the last four words of that quote. I'm just not familiar enough with policy-making to understand what it might be.
Found your blog through your AJ3 post. The study is somewhat vague, it seems. Is there more heart disease among grandmothers who care for grandchildren vs. grandmothers who do not care for granchildren ... or is it comparing grandparents with similarly aged women who do not have grandchildren? I don't see what the causative factor is? Are the grandkids stressors? Does grandma catch more colds from the kids which somehow affects her immune system? Anyway, I agree with you - WHY does there have to be a policy and a bureaucrat and a program for every one of life's conditions and risks?