If
an elderly parent has lost a partner, he or she may be
very lonely.
It will also be very hard for
someone whose
partner is no longer able to live independently and
is taken into a nursing home.
These people need every encouragement,
once they have been through the grieving process, to learn
to enjoy the independence they still have and their social
contacts and activities.
Studies have shown that people
who have social connections live longer and suffer fewer
chronic illnesses than people who are isolated and lonely .
Older people are concerned to keep the
family together and there is no reason to exclude them
from family decisions and activities.
There can be mutual respect for each generation's
experience, as well as for their needs and their privacy.
There is still plenty of fun to be had, at any age!
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