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The Distinct Challenges of Living With the Elderly and What You Can Expect to Face as They Age
Are you a caregiver to an elderly person? You might have to face these challenges over the years
Introduction
Back when I was young and fresh out of college, I thought people were heartless and insensitive for throwing their parents into old age homes or packing them off to live in senior citizen retirement communities. We just don’t do such things in India. Or so I thought. People (mostly Indian elders) love gossipping at parties and family functions about how ‘soandso’ threw their parents into an old age home, and about how selfish and self-centered they were with their decision.
Akin to the unmarried and childfree, in India we have a communal othering of people who’ve washed off their responsibilities of caring for their senile parents and have “thrown” them into old age homes.
“Historically, Indians are perceived as familial beings with young-old coexistence. In reality, it is a myth, as the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in its 2016 report mentions India as the leading Asian country in terms of elder…
