Japanese Seniors Caring for Seniors
I read an interesting article on Nippon.com that said 27.5 million households in Japan include a person 65 years or older. This is a majority of the 54.3 million households in total.
In Japan, 63.5% of the households where a person age 65 or older is receiving care, the care giver is also at least 65 year old, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Households where both the recipient and the provider of care are 75 years or older, constitute 35.7% of the households. The number of elderly caregivers is expect to rise because of an overall shortage of caregivers, and Japan's declining birthrate.
Quite a few of my students live in multi-generational households. Several live with their spouses and children on the second floor, with their parents and their grandmothers living on the first floor. I didn't know anyone in this situation when I lived in the US. Is it common for elderly family members to be cared for by elderly children where you live?
4 comments:
In Sweden, in the past, ALL children moved out when they entered college or came of age. Now there is a housing shortage so many have to continue living at home. Also in households with roots in other countries, a multi-generation family is not unusual.
However, almost no one would LOOK AFTER an elderly family member. There is always someone from social service who comes in to deal with hygiene, putting on and taking off compression socks. injecting insulin etc
I know from personal experience how very difficult it is to care for an elderly, demented person but I will do my best to care for the elders in my family even as I myself grow older.
For a long time in Japan it was thought that taking care of one's parents was the norm. When I told my relatives and acquaintance that I had placed my parents in an institution, some of them probably told me that I was not being filial to my parents.
I think it was not uncommon for three generations to live together in Japan before and after the war.
I think young wives had a hard time raising children and taking care of their parents.
These days, more and more people are building two-family homes, and young couples are living close to their parents’ homes to maintain good relationships.
I have a feeling that will happen here too, as families are so spread out so we rely more on our friends. And they're all older.
I guess this also includes one elderly spouse taking care of the other? But I guess also the definition of what constitutes 'elderly' is a little loose, and certainly has shifted over time. I know a lot of people in their 60s and early 70s who I'd never think to call 'elderly'!
Post a Comment