The Elderly Shouldn’t Live in Old Folks’ Homes

Lately the trend of sending the elderly to the old folks’ home is increasing tremendously from time to time especially those who are bed-ridden and weak due to sickness. Moving an elderly parent into a residential care or old folks’ home is a major decision and not one to be taken lightly. There are financial, welfare and psychological aspects to be considered and very often it is a last resort. Sending elderly parents to a care or nursing home often makes people feel very guilty, quite apart from the effect it has on the parent, so is a wise choice to think very carefully before making any final decision. It is also a decision that has to be taken together, so include you, your parents and any other relatives and close friends of your parents who are likely to be affected. Therefore, I think living in the old folks’ home has more disadvantages than advantages. First and foremost, old folks’ homes are very expensive, and might actually be beyond the realm of possibility for many families. Unless parents have set aside their own retirement money for the old folks’ home expenses, individuals might not be able to handle the heavy burden that nursing home costs represent.

Due to the rise in the cost of living, everything including foods, attires, daily products and even electrical and water bills are highly charged by the authorities. This largely contributes to the hike in the price charged on taking care of the elderly. Not only that, paying a large sum of money does not guarantee a luxurious lifestyle in the old folk’s home as the accommodation and products provided are simply good enough or average only to live with. Next, while a good old folks’ home can provide a sense of community, sponsoring trips, dinners, and many more, how much the community provided depends largely on an individual’s condition. For elderly persons who are largely bed-ridden or suffering from various levels of dementia, loneliness can settle in. Despite a family’s best intentions, visits to old folks’ home residents have a tendency to get put on the back burner by busy families, further fostering that sense of loneliness.

As time passed by, the bonds between the families slowly disintegrate and lead to the destruction of the foundation of happy family. The individual might eventually face a major crisis or setback where they start to isolate themselves from others and suffer from mental breakdown due to the cruel reality. Moreover, people who have lived a lifetime and made it to their golden years in one piece deserve their freedom. But sometimes old folks’ homes are so structured that such freedom is sacrificed. Old folks’ homes can’t leave group participation entirely up to the individual because that leaves the possibility that a resident will not adapt and will fail to get the most out of living at the home. But homes shouldn’t be so structured that a resident can’t take a day off to spend with the grandkids or just relax. While most old folks’ home residents can’t live independently, that doesn’t mean all of their independence should be sacrificed.

Unfortunately some nightmares do come true as everyone has heard the nursing home neglect horror stories. Even with government regulations and evaluations these things have a way of happening. As a matter of fact, no son or daughter wants their parent to be victimized. Most of the old folks’ homes nowadays tend to gain maximum profit and indirectly neglect the customer’s priorities. To safeguard against that, seek referrals from friends who might have parents in a home or ask physicians to recommend a facility are the best options. In conclusion, others like to send the elder people to the nursing homes, because in contemporary life they have not enough time to spend on looking after elderly and they consider that in the old folks’ homes, elder people can find many friend who the same generation and hobbies but they are our grandparents or our parents who were born our parents and us and grew up and also brought us up, so we must have responsibility to take care carefully them when they are becoming more and more weak.