My parents need to move house. The house they live in now has three bedrooms and a big garden and it’s soon going to be too much for them as they are already in their seventies. I keep telling them they need to get a nice little bungalow or a house in a sheltered housing complex but I can’t make them listen to me. They say they are happy where they are. I’m getting really frustrated with them and I don’t know what to do.
Anonymous
Answer
It’s natural for people to have concerns about their parent’s situation and wellbeing as they approach old age. However, elderly parents are adults and have the right to be left to make their own decisions whether the family agree with them or not. It’s important to remember that many of the elderly have a lifestyle just as the rest of the population do. Many people in their seventies have an active social life and don’t want to move away from their friends, neighbours, groups and clubs etc. If they have a garden it’s good for them to be able to stay active and enjoy it. If they are active and can manage stairs it’s good for them to use them. There’s really only a problem if it becomes dangerous for an elderly parent to remain in their current home; such as if they have severe mobility problems or dementia. If that happens then they may need to be persuaded to move, but with great care and respect and in a way that includes them in the decision making process.