Until someone comes up with a workable marketing plan for an MTV for seniors, our present-day culture will continue to emphasize the glamour of youth and blow off the dust of people considered old. As such, we look at oldsters somewhat askance, is if they function at a level somewhere between a chimpanzee in diapers and a toddler with a hearing deficiency. This myth of diminished capacity will be eroded somewhat as the more than 70 million baby boomers move into the aged cohort. But there's still a great need for communication between the young and old, regardless of the age of each.

In underlining the seriousness of the situation, David Solie draws on the German proverb: "Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is."

"Bodies don't work as well when we age, so it seems reasonable to assume that brains don't work as well, either," he writes in his book, "How to Say It to Seniors."

While Solie, an estate-planning financial planner, put the book together as a tool for consultants working with seniors, his insights also have applications for family and friends.

He cites, for example, Verdi's Otello, the founding of the Christian Science Monitor by Mary Baker Eddy, and the design and construction of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggen-heim Museum on New York City. These achievements were attained when those individuals were aged 70 and 71.

"Our love of the biological model of aging has duped us into believing that 'slowing down' is synonymous with diminished capacity," he states about the segment of population "that Tom Brokaw writes about in 'The Greatest Generation.'"

So there is no excuse for the communication gap separating children, parents, and grandparents, especially when it comes to money matters.

You should know, for example, if your parents have enough money to live on in their retirement. If they have never discussed it with you, then you can use a variety of tactics to broach the topic. Some of them are in Solie's book.

For starters, vital for everybody is the need to maintain control over their lives.

So if your parents are already retired, ask them for some help by explaining how they came up with their retirement plan. This can lead to exploration of both your financial situations--yours and theirs.

The discussion, once opened, can expand to medical and health coverage, estate planning, and wills. Parents can use the same strategy to introduce the subject to your children.

If you and your parents come to realize they could use some assistance--direct financial aid or bookkeeping help--then you can both work on a program.

Once they feel they will maintain control over their future with your help, you'll have to dive into their fiscal files.

If you've done this for yourself, you already know what's required. If you haven't, you should start now.