Harmony Within the Family: Caring for the Elderly : หน้า 110/216

Part Four: Harmony Within the Family Unfortunately, there is an increasing trend, particularly in the United States, for the elderly to be placed in retirement homes and then forgotten and/or neglected by their families. With inflation and very expensive health care costs, much of western society does not make caring for the elderly any easier. Also, because there is a rapid increase in the size of the elderly population, the parents who are neglected have become a major concern for modern society. In some cultures, we are taught that our own success depends upon how well we treat our parents. Because our parent's kindness cannot be compared to others, if we do not understand and appreciate this fact, we will not be treated courteously by others. In most societies, it is the parents who take care of us while we are infants. They warmly accepted us into their lives, gave us the necessities of life, nurtured us, struggled in every way to help us develop and succeed, and loved us much as they were able to. Eventually, we will become old and succumb to some form of degeneration. Without our children's gratitude and love for us, we ourselves may become neglected. How can we prevent this from happening? Somehow, we have to prepare ourselves for old age. Not doing so will bring trouble later because we may be unable to adjust when our physical body becomes weaker. In addition, there may be pressures as a result of our lack of preparation in dealing with these problems. We must help our children recognize how they can be helpful in caring for us. We should teach our children when they are little how to help our aging grandparents. As a result, they will automatically bear witness to our teaching and example. Later in life, they will treat us in the same manner as we did with our parents. It is also Family Day By Day 108 In Their Final Days