As a social worker, have you ever wondered how some adult children seem to just dump their parents in a nursing home and never visit them?
That question was posed on Quora.com. Kurt Guntheroth, a software engineer and Forbes contributor, came up with these answers (abridged):
- The medically fragile or demented parent requires 24/7 hours of daily care. The child bravely cares for the parent for ten years, but eventually the child gets sick. It’s such a relief to have their life back that even when they get well, they never bring the parent back home.
- Children move to other states or countries. Mom and dad do fine for fifty years, but by the time they begin to struggle, the children are used to them being far away. It costs hundreds of dollars to fly back to see the old folks, who are living in a run-down smelly mobile home. It’s depressing, and the social worker has to wrangle the kids, who take the easiest path and put them into a home.
- Children dump the parent when they become an expense because children gotta live their life. They hang the responsibility on one of their sisters (it’s always a sister). She does what she can, but is so angry about having mom dumped on her that she resents mom’s existence.
- Parent is so contentious and irritable that children break off contact. When the elderly person gets old and flaky, the social worker puts them in a nursing home.
- Children are such thieves that they loot their parents’ wealth, then dump dad in a Medicaid bed in a nursing home. The parent (who isn’t even demented, just a little confused) is heartbroken.
Do these experiences resonate with you? Why not suggest to adult children that they might want to have a compassionate and responsible caregiver come to the home? They would provide non-medical care and companionship.
Are you looking for a qualified non-medical caregiver in Lake County or northern Cook County in Illinois? We recommend FirstLight Home Care of Deerfield/Lake Forest.
Why not contact FirstLight Home Care? Call them now at 224-880-6555.