Contribution of senior citizens to family and society

Eastern thought gives the family, the elderly, and traditional age hierarchies more value. The family is considered the most important and outstanding primary group in society.

In ancient and medieval South Asia, the elderly used to be at the forefront of family and community affairs and decision-making. They would invariably head the family, and their words would often be a law. Similarly, they used to occupy a place of prominence in the community. Therefore, the contemporary situation of senior citizens are best understood in the context of the past. The ageing population was considered one of humanity's greatest assets.

Unfortunately, the situation has changed throughout the world, although the change is slow in our society. Increasing age imposes several limitations on the elderly, biologically, socially, and economically. It becomes too easy to see elderly persons as mere passive receptors of care. And, since contemporary society values youth, preconceived notions about old age are widespread with varying intensity. Often senior citizens are considered a liability, incapable of contributing anything to society. It is not uncommon to come across young people who think old age a handicap or an incurable disease.

The extended or joint families with senior citizens at the helm are decreasing in the modern era. The extended family type is diminishing due to numerous and often unavoidable reasons. Due to processes like industrialization, urbanization, and modernization, it has overshadowed the agricultural economy, and joint family households have given way to the nuclear family system. After industrialization and modernization, people started to move towards an economic-oriented lifestyle, which led them to choose the members who should remain with them. These conditions helped create a lifestyle of the nuclear family system forcefully and willingly.

Leaving aside the issue of merits and demerits, these social changes have profoundly influenced the situation of older persons. In this modern era, often, they are found to have been socially marginalized — be it the household or the community. However, in some countries, including Bangladesh, some people give their support to preserve the extended family system, at least keeping their senior citizens in the same household. Senior citizens also play active roles by supporting the family members in numerous ways.

On the other hand, in modern Western cultures, the societal status of seniors has declined. As they live longer, the elderly often find themselves displaced due to financial constraints or an inability to live independently. Many are forced to move to retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes.

Most of the people in developed countries often live separately in their own space by forming a nuclear family system that includes a husband, wife, children and even a pet. So, the parents and grandparents are more likely to disappear from the traditional family structure and live separately.

On the other hand, the situation differs in most countries in the developing nations where they still preserve some cultural and traditional values. People give their support to maintain the extended family system, at least keeping their senior citizens in the household. While receiving the services provided by the family members, senior citizens also play some active roles and support their family members to strengthen their existence in society.

Senior citizens offer a potentially huge resource not just to their community but also to broader society by offering things such as childcare and family support, creating an informal system of care, and many other ways. Providing security is another special role played by senior citizens. In the real sense, the senior citizens play a vital role in the family, society, and the country as a whole. The major contribution of senior citizens is their involvement in maintaining household activities. Senior citizens often cook, feed kids, and bring grandchildren to school.

Senior citizens provide a unique kind of love, affection, and care to all family members via participating in household activities. Small grandchildren also wish to sleep with them and are interested in listening to the folk stories from their grandmother and grandfather. They often work as the primary caregivers or caretakers by looking after the grandchildren when their parents have to go out for their jobs and other activities.

Senior citizens have an immense ocean of experiences and they can actively participate and give moral support to their family members. Guiding the family members is one of the significant roles played by the senior citizens. They are in a position to advise on spiritual and moral aspects that could benefit the family.

Senior citizens play a vital role as counselling providers to their family members to overcome and control the emotions and family problems in a critical condition. They help the youngsters in the family overcome mental agony they face due to the financial burden, poverty, and how to handle their children tactfully. They even provide counselling for the disaster victims who lose their parents and dear ones and advise them to start a new life. Senior citizens in the family always encourage the family members to be patient and cheerful and do not agonise over the losses. And they make the younger generation believe in a bright future and strive to achieve it persistently.

The Royal Voluntary Service, UK identify the huge contribution older people, in addition to the financial contribution, make in their role as "social glue" through "other contributions to their communities and neighbourhoods by being active members of the places where they live, which cannot readily be quantified in cash terms". Research has shown that older people already have a greater propensity to volunteer, be involved with community-based organisations, participate in democratic institutions, and vote. These social glues are "pillars of the community: lynchpins of local clubs, societies, faith groups, and other community-based organisations; Leadership: leadership and high levels of membership of many local organisations, groups and societies; making important contributions to local safety, e.g., Neighbourhood Watch and helping children travel to school safely; 'looking out for vulnerable neighbours and helping them stay independent for longer; helping to address the national shortages in a number of craft and technical skills or providing specific organisational skills and/or technical expertise to volunteering groups; providing advocacy and guidance to a range of people in their community, including younger generations who can soak up their experience and skills; being active users or customers of community-based facilities and resources such as local shops, post offices, libraries, pubs and GP surgeries, without whom these facilities could be less viable."

Senior citizens play a significant part in solving disputes and conflicts among family members. Senior citizens bring harmonious solutions to most problems and quarrels among the family members. They are trusted to have impartiality in dealing with family problems, as they know the background reasons for the conflicts. A study found that 54 per cent of the senior citizens in the study area engage in mediating activity among the family members. Senior citizens' timely actions through mediating preserve the family bonds and relations without resulting in prolonged strife among the family members.

The family members find it difficult to hide the facts, and they cannot exaggerate the problems to the senior citizens in dispute situations. This great mediation effort helps the family members prevent exaggerating the disputes and seeking legal solutions for family problems.

In rural Bangladesh, most male senior citizens engage in cultivation and other farming activities to support their children and grandchildren. The public attitudes towards the ageing population should be reviewed considering their contribution to the family and society. Bangladesh has passed the historic 'The Parent's Care Act, 2013' to ensure social security of the senior citizens and compel the children to take good care of their parents. According to the law, the children will have to take the necessary steps to look after their parents and provide them with food and shelter. Each of the children will have to regularly pay 10 percent of their total income to their parents if they do not live with their parents. Moreover, the children will have to meet their parents regularly if they live in separate residences. Furthermore, children are allowed to send their parents to old homes beyond their wishes under no circumstances.

The writer is a legal economist. He can be contacted at mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com