Don't you think we should care for our elderly at home, rather than send them off to nursing homes?

It gets to the point where an elderly person needs 24 hours per day care and that is when it become impractical. Ideally we would employ a nurse to care for them in their own home, if we don't have to go to work ourselves but it often gets to the point where the care needs to be specialized.

That depends on what their health needs are and how well you can meet them. Of course, the elderly person would rather be at home, you would, too. If they are able to care for themselves it's not hard to keep them at home.

But the more needs they have, the harder it is to meet their needs at home. What about a person with a feeding tube in their stomach, or a catheter, or oxygen machine? It can get complicated.

I would keep a person at home as long as I could.

By experience as I deal with these issues professionally I would say that there is no right or wrong answer. While in some cases older people are better off at home there are many frail older people living isolated and depressed and they could be better off in a decent nursing home where at least they could have some human contact. Abuse on older people is well publicised when it happens in nursing homes, a lot less when it happens at home by members of their own family although it is not uncommon at all.

When older people suffer from dementia, for instance, their family members are not always skilled enough to deal with it (if you are familiar with anyone with very advanced dementia you know what I mean) and might find it difficult to stay calm 24/7 especially as they are emotionally involved. A trained professional who can be emotionally detached would be a better choice, unfortunately many nursing homes are staffed by badly trained and demotivated staff with a very low status but that it is another issue altogether.

Yes, if possible....My family has been doing this for BOTH my parents. My father first and now my Mom too. It's very tiring mostly because one or both can be very demanding and our situation is different in dysfunction upbringing.

But in general it's the kindest thing you can do--only if they are able to get around, or you will need expensive care....so it sort of depends on if it's affordable and if any relatives have time.

If you are strong enough to lift them up from the floor , into bed & change their nappies throught the day and night and be there 24 hours a day it could workIf I was like my uncle is I would rather be in a home where they are trained to lookafter you and have visitors.

I live in Surinam and here it's normal that the family takes care of the elderly. We don't even have nursing homes. Well maybe one or two but you don't want to live there.

But personally I find it a good thing to take care of them at home. I've been to some nursing homes and I never got a good feeling about them.

I think this question needs to be addressed within families as early as possible so that the elderly person can state their preference. If the elderly person would prefer to stay at home, and their family wants to assist, the next step is ascertain what support is needed to make that happen. We all know that as people age they often need help with certain tasks.

This can become more pronounced if the person suffers from health conditions such as dementia or Parkinson's.. There are many services available to help elderly people remain living at home - depending on the country you live in some of these may be funded by your insurance or government programs. Often the cost of home care can be far cheaper then a nursing home. You can also arrange a paid carer.

These sort of arrangements can take some of the pressure off the family and make the choice to stay at home an easy one to make.

It all depends, I think if we are able to care for our elderly at home that it is a great idea. They will eat better and rest better, When it is not possible to care for your loved one, sometimes rehab can be a good alternative, this way they can get aggressive therapy and go home much stronger and independent. When a loved ones needs 24 hr care, it can be impossible to care for them at home.

Sometimes when a loved one goes to a nursing home, it makes it possible for you to come and spend quality time with them, instead of when you care for them at home , you're both exhausted.

Yes you are absolutely rite shil but the problem start when we make nursing homes and call it a work of charity that encourage people to send their elders to these homes if we don't have these homes then some how we have to keep our elders in our home. Elders are the charm of our faimlies if send them to nursing homes it means we are seeding a plant which will be cut by our fore generations.

I really do believe we should care for them at home. My grandma is now 84 years old and lives at home with us. Think of it this way, in terms of your mom or dad, once they get older, would you really want to send them to one of those after all that they did for you?

I mean, it's the least you can do for them, instead of sending them somewhere where they'll be miserable. I'm not attacking you or anything, just giving my point of view. And I'm not saying all parents gave everything they could for their children, so I don't judge if that decision is made by others, but in my case they did.

I could never be able to live with myself if I put my mother in a nursing home.

Wherever practical it is best to keep them in the community with their independence. I have two neighbours in their 90s, next door, A, 96, and B, 95, our gardens are joined with no fence, I can get straight through. A is fine, she walks with a stick, a frame if a long way, she has a lift to get into the bath, a carer comes and helps her and she can bang on the wall if she needs me in emergency, she was 96 last Tuesday (22/07) and we went in for a shot of the hard stuff and some birthday cake:-)B is different, fiercely independent to her own detriment, I had to go in and pick her up at Christmas time, her remaining family, her nephew is in his mid-seventies and can't do much and lives 30 miles away, she's had a couple of spells in hospital since Christmas, I think it may be that she will have to go into care.

I think they should decide. If they want to be 'independant' and 'assisted', they should be able to decide what assisted living complex they want.. If they are incapable of deciding for themselves, it is always better for them to be with family. If an elder relative is suffering from dementia or something similar, family is the only option in my eyes.

Not only is it safer, but its better for the patient as well.

Elderlys need care, attention, and love. They may get proper care and attention at the nursing homes; but more importantly they definitely need love coming from the people they also love so much. Remember we are all going into that stage some day; and for me I definitely want to stay at home with my family.

I am a Home Health Liaison. I find that the majority of families 'do not' send their loved ones off to nursing homes. #1.It is very costly#2.

It is usually a last move, when the family cannot do the care associated with long term health issues. #3. Education is needed on the home-health option.

"Age in Place". #4. Group homes are popping up all over the country.

People live with others and are visited by Nurses.

My husband has Multiple Sclerosis. We have been married for 40 years and of those years, 38 years of them have been with this illness. We have three children and five grandchildren.

He was diagnosed with MS in 1972 and walks with crutches. He has been bedridden at times and in and out of a wheelchair. As of now, he walks with crutches.

I am not patting myself on the back but I've stuck by him and taken care of him but I have health issues of my own and when I was young I could do what was needed for him when he was bedridden or in a wheelchair but I cannot lift him anymore and if he ever gets worse again I would put him in a nursing home. There are good nursing facilities, my daughter is a RN and she has worked in them in her training. I, myself, would want to go into a home rather then burden my children with my care when that happens.Do you know that caregivers can end up dying taking care of the ill spouse?

Stress can kill you too. Also, I think in a lot of cases a woman will take care of a chronically ill spouse then what a man would.

Yes we should because nursing homes abuse our elderly.

In other cultures, the elderly are cared for at home by their sons and daughters - however they have invested the same care into said sons and daughters well past 18 years of age.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.