Coming from a culture where we care for our elderly till the last breath; the prompt's question initially seems surprising to me. Then it came to my mind, how our culture is also changing and many old-age homes are growing. And I know, we should also think deeply about this so much so that the elderly folks don't have to worry about their last days.
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Asians have a culture to deeply values the elderly, respects them, keeps them with our family, and takes turns to give them active care and support. Even if that means assisting them with bedpans and helping them maintain personal hygiene.
I grew up seeing my parents doing that to their parents and I already have the mindset to do that myself one day.
But for the next generation, I'm not sure. Because we live separately and my children don't have the chance to see this culture as much as we did.
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However, it's not 'picture-perfect' for all of us. Many abandon their parents, many even beat up the elderly to access their inheritance, etc. We get to see news about sons and daughters throwing their parents on the road and they don't have any choice but to live anywhere but on the streets.
You may have known that Retirement Plan and Life insurance is not a Thing in the Asian region. They mostly rely on the next generation for mental and financial support. If that doesn't work then they don't have any choice but to spend the last days miserably.
What do we need to do?
There's no other way rather strengthen the family bond and create a responsibility chain. Although modernization and the nuclear family diagram changed the society's practice but we should make it a priority to give them support, if not physically then financially and mentally.
Building community support initiatives can be a good action. Elderly people don't go out that much here and feel alone. We should support them in forming elderly clubs, involve them in different volunteer work, etc. There are a few initiatives related to it but we need to make this popular and bring a cultural change.
Providing better healthcare should be the highest priority. If they need mobile healthcare, community support to visit the hospitals, insurance system to back up their financial issues, etc; we need to build a better system.
Financial assistance is what they face problems with. Usually, sons and daughters take turns helping them out. But if no one is present or the couple doesn't have anyone, there should be checks and balances so they can get support from the government. Also, in general, the government should take some initiatives like building elderly homes, giving them a monthly allowance, etc to support them.
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These will not be enough. You know, we are aging too just like our parents. And it sometimes makes me think, about how life would be. Because I'm the kind of person who wouldn't live with my children in my old age but rather live separately.
If we can't ensure to build a better system to help the elderly in mental health care, support them financially, and give them active care then it would be a big social issue.
Sometimes they don't need any financial support but our presence. I see their faces light up seeing the grandkids and us. So we should be more emphatic about this issue.
It's almost impossible to make a stop to social dysfunction, things will change and will change fast. So, not only we should focus on building a better family bond but also, and most importantly we need to build a system to make the last days of the elderly folks happier.
This is not possible in one day, but taking the initiative today will give me a chance someday.
Your @peacefulsoul