Only 11% of elderly parents living away from their children and alone in India find that the arrangements made by their children for their living are satisfactory, while 89% of the children living away from their elderly parents in India think that they have made good or very good arrangements for them, according to a recent survey released by IVH SeniorCare in association with Wellness Health and You.
The survey “Jug Jug Jiyengey” has further brought out that 67% of the young adults leaving away from their parents in India are worried about the health of their ageing parents, while 36% of the elderly are worried about maintaining their social life.
However, only 10% of the elderly think about their own physical health to be of utmost importance.
The survey, which was conducted to understand the perspective and problems faced by elderly parents living away from their children, brought out startling differences between the expectations and reality among ageing parents and their children, who are often left alone as their kids have to travel elsewhere for better job opportunities.
The survey which was conducted across several states in India revealed that 45.2% of the elderly living in Delhi-NCR missed their loved ones, while 46.2% of the elderly in Maharashtra struggled with their daily chores.
Dr G.S. Grewal, Elder Care Specialist and Consultant, Max Hospital and Chairman, Wellness Health & You, said, “The differences in the way children living away from home and their elderly parents think are of serious concern. While children are right to worry about the physical health of their elderly parents, the parents’ key concerns about missing out on social life and difficulty in meeting their everyday needs highlight underlying mental health issues. Children fail to understand that health is not merely physical health; instead, it is a state of physical and mental well-being. Living a socially secluded life in the absence of children, often predispose elders to a feeling of loneliness, which can later transform into depression.”
There are already 104 million senior citizens in India and that number is expected to increase three times to 340 million by 2050. With globalisation and in search of better opportunities and living standards, more and more young children are expected to move out of tier three and tier four cities by the end of 2050.
Swadeep Srivastava, Founder and Chief Belief Officer, IVH SeniorCare, told this correspondent, “Parental care and affection never let parents share their concerns with their children. Introduction of the nuclear family structure and migration of children to new geographies in search of career have further substantiated the feeling. It is important that children engage in regular conversations with parents to have an insight of their needs, rather than just relying on assumptions.”
The survey included a sample size of 1,000 elderly citizens from states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.