Questions I would like asked as I age: What do you think about this, what would you do in this situation, what helped you in this area. In fact, I wouldn't mind being asked questions, period. I am an asker, I ask questions when I'm with people. The benefit is validity - I am a valid person, not invalid (read that both ways).
 | So I would like questions asked of me. Ok this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it is a nice way to broach a conversation. And it shows appreciation of the elderly. What was it like in the '60s (no, not my sixties, The Sixties). What music groups did you like? How was it growing up with 6 girls in the family? Why did you love ballet so much? These questions are especially nice when asked by your kids, and luckily I do experience those precious moments from time to time. |
Stories of goings-on in aged care facilities curl my hair. Close to home as well, as a family member worked in aged care. The way sons and daughters treat their aging/dying mothers and fathers, the invisibility of the invalid (the sick/the unacceptable), whichever way you want to pronounce that word, the lack of communication, the lack of questioning, the lack of interest, the lonely person sitting in their chair being talked down to by a worker in the tone of "you all right, dear?". That is not the right question.
Ask an older person a question today that's meaningful to their life. By older I mean in their 60s and upward. Try it and see their eyes light up. Unless of course they're a super private person, in which case you should be using some tact :D
Ask an older person a question today that's meaningful to their life. By older I mean in their 60s and upward. Try it and see their eyes light up. Unless of course they're a super private person, in which case you should be using some tact :D
