ABSTRACT
A University of Southern California anthropologist, Barbara Myerhoff, was perhaps the first person to properly document the special culture of the elderly in America. The sexuality of the elderly is made fun of, their physical difficulties are the subject of caricature, and their memories are the topic of cruel humor. Talking to children about death has in many ways been treated in much the same confused way that often characterizes sex education. The primary responsibility for talking to children about the death of a loved one belongs to their parents. The death of siblings was common, and many children lost a parent before they reached adulthood. Whether upon the death of another family member or in the course of their own illnesses, grandparents can often provide families with a positive model of how to cope with and approach death with dignity and thoughtfulness.
