Ageing in Different Cultures

How the elderly community are treated in certain cultures differs surprisingly. How we care for and treat our elderly loved ones can vary depending on the culture we grew up in. This differs in the way we treat our elders and whether we respect their life experience or see it as a burden. It also varies between having an elderly relative live with you, or whether you tend to find them a home to be cared for in.

These cultural differences are also susceptible to change over time. This can be seen in our culture in the UK. A couple of generations ago it was almost expected that an ageing parent would live in the family home. Nowadays, families may be less able to accommodate an ageing relative and finding them a care home would better suit their needs.

In the UK most of us respect and appreciate our elders. However, every now and again situation’s of age discrimination are reported in the media. This can suggest we’re not as accepting of our elderly population as we once were. This is a trend that has taken place across many countries, with some of the biggest shifts coming from western cultures.

So, in order to continue to celebrate our elderly loved ones, we’ve picked out some of the countries around the world that continue to highly celebrate their ageing population:

Japan

Japan’s population is rapidly ageing. It was recently reported by The Japan Times that it has the lowest proportion of working-age people. However, in Japan elderly people are recognized as being wise and experienced. The cultural norms mean that many Japanese elders live with their children.

China

China is another country that instills a lot of respect for their elders and again many people opt to take care of ageing relatives in the home. Within Chinese culture, it’s seen as dishonorable to place your loved one in a care home. However, this is starting to shift as the one-child policy has led to an ageing population. It is becoming more common to place elderly relatives in care home due to increasing pressure.

India

Elderly relatives in India often remain head of the household, with the whole family living together. Grandparents help to care for Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren whilst their parents are out at work. Elderly members of the family are also seen as wise and can provide advice on a wide range of issues. These can include finance and marriage.

Greece

One country in the West that has an extremely high amount of respect for its elders is Greece. This is displayed in part of the Greek culture with the value called philotimo, which means “doing good”. Children can show philotimo when they love and respect their elders, highlighting how ingrained this is within Greek culture.

Careline

If you feel like your loved one would benefit from a little extra security at home, a personal alarm is a great idea. If you have any questions about our service, please do get in touch with our Customer Service Team on 0800 101 3333 or via email at info@careline.co.uk

Note: we updated this post in August 2021 to reflect the latest information.