[Q.]

I have worked at many nursing homes as a part-time job, and have seen that there are more Western elderly people at the homes than Asian people. Why is it that Western people tend to put their parents in nursing homes? Do they think their parents are a burden?

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Name : Q., City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, 

[Lisa]

I've worked in a nursing home and have had numerous relatives in that field as well. I think one of the differences between the Asian and Western cultures is in what they consider the 'best care' for their elderly. Because many of us are raised to believe in the miracles of modern medicine and to trust the judgement of physicians and other 'experts,' putting an elderly person in a nursing home is thought of as doing what is right and best for the person. Asians, however, may not have that same kind of reverence for the judgement of experts. Also, many immigrant groups (not just Asians) do not like to be seen as unable to take care of their own people and/or do not trust the dominant culture to provide for them. This also contributes to the tendency to keep the elderly at home. More traditional lifestyles can make it easier to care for the elderly at home as well.

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Name : Lisa, City : Milwaukee, State : WI Country : United States, 

[Jana B.]

Most of western society don't feel that their parents are a burden, but they are treated differently than in the eastern societies. In the west, it's customary for the parents and grown children to have separate lives from one another, even after the parents are elderly and become ill. That's why there are 'social security' systems, nursing homes, assisted living, etc. so that ideally the elderly has a choice as to how they want to live. In the east, there are no such systems available on a large scale for their elderly, and their society ditctates that the children of the parents are honor-bond to take care of them as well as their own family. Each system has its pros and cons.

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Name : Jana B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Tacoma, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Lab Tech, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jessica]

I think with the steady increase of 'dysfunctional' families in Western culture, fewer of us have any feeling of loyalty or debt to our parents. There is an increase in parents who don't really do any parenting - and it's awfully idealistic and naive to assume that I consider giving birth to a child (essentially having unprotected sex) such a huge accomplishment that I will forever revere and take care of parents who didn't take care of me. Also, in many Eastern cultures, the predominant religions (such as Shinto, in Japan) revolve around ancestor worship, which certainly influences the way you take care of your parents.

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Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Hulwi]

Elderly people living in nursing homes: here in the netherlands it's an economic and cultural tradition. In our language we have a difference in family (as in father, mother, children (in dutch: gezin)) and family (as in grandparents, aunts, uncles etc (in dutch: familie). The difference is that members of your 'gezin'live at the same home and 'familie' members live on another adress. From the 17th century, a golden age in the netherlands, it was common and affordable to live as a 'gezin' instead of a family, that's why up till today it is common for elderly people not to live with their familie in one house.Parents aren't seen as a burden here! But was must be said is that in times of economic difficulty in the netherlands it was common for familie (grandparents) to move in with their children and grand children. So i guess in holland it is a question if you can afford to live as a 'gezin' or as a 'familie'.

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Name : Hulwi, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 31, City : Enschede, State : NA Country : netherlands, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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