Nowadays, it is becoming difficult for relatives or friends to take care of older people in some countries. I believe, this can be explained by hectic lifestyles of adults and financial pressure, while several measures can be done to tackle this problem, such as flexible working schedules and financial support for caregivers.
There are main driving factors behind this problem, chief among which is lack of time on people. The main reason is that, in developing world, individuals are mainly busy with their work on most of their days, and consequently, they may struggle to find time to visit their older parent’s home. For example, a man who works from morning to evening might feel exhausted and do not want to keep in touch with their loved ones, even with their children. For this reason, looking after elderly people become less frequent for their family members and close ones.
Another equally important reason for this trend is economic pressures on young people. In other words, increasing financial demand for living expenses puts strain on individuals’ shoulders, such as accommodation, transportation and utility services. To exacerbate this, meeting with their parents may require more money, especially for those who works in remote areas, as transportation and medication costs can be the main financial problem for them. As a result, young families might choose to visit their elderly relatives rarely.
Despite this problems, several effective steps can be taken to mitigate them. Firstly, switching to flexible working hours may allow employees to spend more time with their families and older parents. It can be explained by the fact that if workers work harder and longer for two days, they can go to their parent’s home with their families during another two days, without thinking about time. As a result, adjustable working schedules may give employees opportunities to set aside time for their close relatives as well as their older people. Also, allocating money on people who has to look after senior citizens may ease financial burdens on them. Giving economic supports may make it easier for caregivers to cover the expenses of people in their old age. Thereby, caring for older people may become much easier and less financially demanding for their family members.
To conclude, although take care of elderly persons may challenging for their relatives and friends, maily because of busy lifetime and economic burdens, there are various ways by which this problem can be mitigated.