Most older people stayed with their children before. But this situation has changed a lot. Recently, more and more older people choose to live in retirement communities with other same-age older people. I think it is a wise choice which should be encouraged.
A lot of older people stayed with their children because they were concerned about their children. Young people get more stress from society. The older people, in order to take care of their children and let them have less stress, stayed with their adult children to do some housework. In addition, the older people stayed with their children because if they left their family and lived alone, they would get less touch with family members and lead to estrangement in the family, so that can affect family cohesion.
But now, older people are more willing to live in retirement communities. The first reason is that retirement communities can offer many kinds of activities and social opportunities, which not only can enrich older people’s lives but also can reduce the sense of loneliness. If they choose to stay at home with their family, adult children cannot take care of them all the time because of their busy careers, which is not beneficial for their mental health. Besides that, retirement communities also can offer professional medical care and emergency rescue, which can adapt to older people’s daily requirements and keep them fit.
In conclusion, it is true that living with their adult children was the choice most older people made, but I tend to argue that living in retirement communities is generally beneficial and necessary.