The subject of intergenerational relationships necessarily crops up regularly in discussions about family, and its importance has been underscored repeatedly at Family Matters. One friend, Robert DiLallo, suggested to me today that the most positive news and trends among adults in the "grandparent generation" often goes unreported. Only moments after we talked about this, the latest Journal of Intergenerational Relationships landed on my doorstep (courtesy of the US Postal Service) and presented a stellar opportunity to report on some of the recent positive news in cross-generational programs. In this 2008 report, University of Maryland researchers outlined a model program where older adults (aged 50 and over) worked to target childhood obesity by using humor to pass on knowledge about healthy eating habits to a sampling of school children. The success of that particular model program wasn't the only good news in the University of Maryland report, however. What many older adults may find intriguing is the fact that this was only one of many intergenerational programs being conducted by the university's Legacy Leadership Institutes. According to the LLI site, "Legacy signifies our mission to serve as intergenerational ambassadors who are committed to preserving the wisdom of the past, applying knowledge to the community in the present and transferring these gifts to future generations. The Legacy Leadership Institutes combine lifelong learning and civic engagement and bring the expertise of Maryland residents age 50+ to a variety of sectors through education, leadership, and volunteer service." The LLI programs are not only remarkable for the research they provide to those who study intergenerational relationships, but they are also remarkable for the inherent "win-win" effects on everyone involved in them. In the case of the "Humor Your Way to Good Health" model, it was not only the children whose health habits changed, but also those of the older adults who used humor to teach them. According to the report, "Initially, the Legacy Leaders were committed to helping children attain healthier lifestyles. Through participation in the model demonstration, Legacy Leaders became interested in learning not only about children's health but also about their own health. They incorporated their new knowledge into decisions about their own health and viewed self-knowledge as a foundation for being able to influence children. They comment that the children enjoyed hearing about their 'trials and tribulations' when trying to change eating and physical activity patterns. Legacy Leaders indicate that the children taught them through their questions and joint participation in the many humor-based activities." The success of this program, and others like it, suggests that similar outcomes may occur even outside of organized models. Implemented within individual families and communities, positive interactions between these generations could turn a win-win proposition into "win-win-win," with society itself being the third beneficiary. | 
