1. Running Head: OLD HOMES SEVERING FAMILY TIES 1
Old Age Homes are Creating a Distance between Parents and Children
MD.HASAN-AL-YAKUT
BRAC University
Submitted to:
Kazi Sarmad Karim.
ENG-102
ID: 13104113
Section: 05

2. OLD HOMES SEVERING FAMILY TIES 2
Old Age Homes are creating a Distance between Parents and Children
It is expected that by 2050, the world’s population will include more than 830 million
people who will be more than 65 years old so it is very much clear that the number is increasing
and also the responsibilities towards them are increasing. As the psychological conditions of
elderly population are not so good, depression and suicide are becoming more and more likely to
occur among the elderly citizens. Older adults are becoming very depressed and committing
suicide at a greater rate than ever before due to their failing physical and mental health (Miller, et
al., 2001). At this period the most important thing that is required is not an old age home service,
it’s the support of their children which is very much rare now-a-days. Old age homes are creating
distance between parents and children because, children are unable to know their parents
demands and fulfill them, old age period really requires support of the children to have mental
satisfaction and proper medical support is not provided. But sometime it is really hard for a
working family to cope up with the older parents in the family.
When a child is born, it’s the duty of the parents to raise the child by providing the
necessary environment and materials and fulfilling all their demands, because without the
parents it is quite impossible for the children to live in this world. Eventually this duty also falls
on the children too, when the parents get older. As at that stage without the support of the
children the parents are unable to fulfill their demands. As these older parents are sent to old age
homes so it becomes impossible for the children to know what their parents want due to which
they are unable to fulfill them. It is also found out that older people really gets furious if their
demands are not fulfilled properly and this solution is really hard to find in the old homes,
sometimes mental disorder is observed in them as this demands are not fulfilled in time and it is
also obvious that as time passes the necessity of the demand also decrease for which they might

3. OLD HOMES SEVERING FAMILY TIES 3
feel that their demands has got no value, for this reason children need to stand by their older
parents without sending them to old age homes.
As human beings get older they start to feel a mental disorder that gradually increases as
it is quite different from other people like they start to think differently, they talk differently,
their mentality does not match with others. When they are sent to old age homes they really get
deprived of sharing their views and thoughts, they are unable to give their opinion on the
household decision making, which they really miss. It is found that 26% of old people commit
suicide due to this loneliness. Loneliness is considered as a great curse which does a great harm
to human health both to strong and weak persons and when it occurs to an old person it really
does a great harm to their health. Loneliness is a subjective, negative feeling related to the
persons own experience of deficient social relation. The determinants of loneliness can be
explained on the basis of 2 casual models. The first model examines the external factors, which
are absent in the social network, as the root of loneliness and the second model examines the
internal factors, like personality and psychological factors. Loneliness may lead to serious
health-related consequences. It is one of the 3 main factors leading to depressed as advocated by
Green (1992). It is also considered as an important cause of suicide and suicide attempts.
Hansson et al., (1986-87) claimed that loneliness was related to poor psychological adjustment,
dissatisfaction with family and social relationship. When people grow older, they experience age
related losses. These losses prohibit maintaining or acquiring new desired relationship, which
interns leads to loneliness. The aged feel lonely as a result of living alone, lack of family ties,
reduced connection with the culture of origin and inability to participate actively in community
activities. These all factors are present mostly in case of aged living in old age homes of our
country. It is proved that family support really gives mental satisfaction and which is really

4. OLD HOMES SEVERING FAMILY TIES 4
necessary to have a good health. Doctors have proved that by various researches that 72% of the
diseases occur in old patients due to mental dis satisfaction, which is quite impossible for an old
age home to provide, so keeping parents at home with their children can create a good
impression on the parents and build mental satisfaction on them.
As age increases human body gets weaker and it becomes afflicted with various diseases
and at that stage proper care is very essential and in this part old age homes are lacking behind,
some diseases are very Sevier like Incontinence, or loss of bladder control, can happen for a
number of reasons. Whether it is temporary or chronic, it’s unpleasant and it can also lead to
emotional distress. Now let’s talk about the Heart diseases, whether it’s a heart attack, stroke,
cardiac attack, high blood pressure, peripheral artery disease or another cardiovascular it is a
number one killer in Asia. We can also mention about Arthritis, it’s a painful condition that can
strike the spine, neck back shoulder, hands and wrist, hip, knee, ankle and feet. It can be
immobilizing and it comes in many forms. The most common diseases that old age people face is
vision and eye diseases, Macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, presbyopia and rental
disorder are just some eye diseases that can reduce a seniors ability to see well. Diabetes is also a
disease that occurs at this stage of life, having high blood glucose levels is the hallmark of
diabetes that affects the body’s ability to produce or use insulin correctly. There are more
problems like Sleep disorder, Depression, Hearing loss, Osteoporosis, Lung diseases, Cancer etc.
which are faced by the old age people. Old age homes provide medical support but that is not up
to the level which can fill the minimum requirement. This care can be found with the person who
is nearer to us, that means the family members. Sometimes having company of the family
member really does 80% cures than medicine. Doctors suggest the children to keep their parents
which can build up their mental strength and help them to live long. Research proved that if a

5. OLD HOMES SEVERING FAMILY TIES 5
person view is given priority whose age is more than 70, it really feels great as he or she used to
feel at the early age while running the family, so it is better to give medical care to older people
by keeping them at home rather sending them to old age homes.
Some people are having a different mentality as they think about the family where
both husband and wife needs to go out for work, it’s really necessary for them to send their
parents to old age homes as they are unable to give them time after having a long day work and
their children also feel stressed having worked for the whole day. Due to this they are taking old
age homes as a good option. But research done by Asian department of social and health services
and DSHS orientation proves that after doing a long term survey that old people do not need full
time care, they just need to keep themselves engaged with some work while living with his or her
family. But in the Asian region mostly in India it is observed that for years children do not visit
their parents at the old age homes which are making the situation worse.
Demand and the necessity of the old age parents are not properly fulfilled, mental
satisfaction and proper medical care is not ensured rather they are sent to old age homes which is
creating a distance between parents and children. Though various old age homes with huge
facilities are growing around us but still it is the family who can serve the old parents in the best
way. So children should through away this kind of old age homes ideas from their head and
create a suitable environment at their house as they have to keep in mind that they will be
needing the support of their children at their old stage.

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