Essay About Social Isolation And Child Carethis

Yes – Script to Sucess
The IssueRapidly Aging PopulationIn 1971, the median age of Canadians was 26.2 years, and in 2011 it was 39.9 years, a jump of 13.7 yearsSo as more and more people fit into the older demographic, the issues they are facing become more relevant to our societyMany retired people may experience social isolation, which is defined by the complete or near-complete lack of contact between an individual and societyAnd now thanks to the shifting roles of elders,Modern elders have lost their value because of advances in areas they used to be relied on for: Modern literacy has taken away the need for memories as the dominant way of storing knowledge; now knowledge is recorded Formal education – school has replaced elders as mentors Rapid technological change – elder’s technical skills are no longer useful as tech changes too quickly to keep upStatsBy 2056 there will only be 2.2 working age people for every dependent senior, compared to what it is currently, at 5 for each dependent seniorSocial isolation impacts the health and behavioral habits of older adults. An older adults social network can impact health positively through encouragement to adhere to medical treatment or to refrain from negative or risky behaviors (Berkman et al., 2000). Without the positive influence of social network members, older adults who are socially isolated are at risk for many negative behaviors such as heavy drinking (Hanson, 1994), smoking, and being sedentary (Eng et al., 2002). Older adults who are socially isolated also have an increased nutritional risk (Locher et al., 2005). (Nicholson, 2012)Impacts on Developmental StagesImpacts can be seen throughout each stage excluding childhood and young adultsAffected the least due to parents most likely still being young enough to be able to take care of themselvesLooking at marital stage of development,Marriage could be affected by burden of stressBusy schedules can harm marital satisfactionLooking at parenthoodThe majority of care to the frail elderly is provided by family members 21% of women are involved in providing eldercare of some kind (2006) 30% of women between 45-64 are combining care of seniors with child careThis means that family members, especially women, have been made into “The Sandwich Generation”In fact, women report leaving the labour force or working part-time because of these responsibilities. Which results in loss of earnings and pension contributions, meaning an increased risk of poverty in old ageImpacts on the Old Age Developmental StageMarriage will be tested by normative events such as retirementStudies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 7 million American adults over the age of 65 experience depression each year. The CDC also reports that adults over the age of 65 made up 16 percent of all suicide deaths in 2004.According to the Berkman framework in 2000, limited social networks impact health downstream through three pathways: (1) behavioral health, (2) psychological, and (3) physiological.The Solution- Click 7 or go to 6:24Inter-Generational Care FacilitiesCombining Pre-school and assistive careAllows children to interact with elderly people on a regular basis, forming positive relationships that benefit both the children and the elderlyCreates a sense of family and community for the residents to enjoyBenefitsEases the pressure on the “Sandwich Generation”, as parents can send their kids and their kid’s grandparents to these care facilitiesAllows the family caregiver to re-enter the workforceHelps reduce anxiety and engage residents with dementiaEngaging the minds of people with dementia has shown to slow down the deteriorationKids gain new experiences and enjoy their time with the residentsParents have even claimed that the preschool helped with behavioural issuesPossibly because the activities they do at the preschool don’t involve overstimulation, and instead children can learn through social interactions^^I can cite the mouse study, where they learned overstimulation increases hyperactivity and risk taking as well as impairing memory. Furthermore, the building block study showed us that interactive play promotes language development. An additional benefit is that the children are receiving cognitive stimulation from the residents when they do activities such as sing, talk, read, build, and play with toys. Lastly, Vygotsky’s social learning theory shows us that social interactions and shared activities can aid the child’s cognitive developmentEnd of Life TheoriesUsing Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ theory on acceptanceHaving positive experiences like the ones in the video could help ease someone through the steps to acceptance Using the disengagement and social death theoryOlder people who might have withdrawn from friends and family can gain positive social interactions with the childrenWorks both ways, children being exposed to people at the end of their life can help them understand and better handle the grieving process if a family member passes away.Can also prevent them from withdrawing as extremely and suddenly from anyone who is preparing for deathSocial Exchange TheoryAfter giving up their jobs as well as their independent lives, residents need new sources of social currencyThis can be in the form of interactions with the children, which can be very beneficial to those suffering from social isolationErik Erikson’s Life-Span Theory of DevelopmentInteractions with residents allow autonomy over doubt, initiative over guilt, and industry over inferiorityThe preschool ensures a safe environment where children spend time achieving their developmental goalsResidents can work towards achieving integrity by spending time with the childrenThanks for watching! – In conclusion, I think by implementing Inter-Generational Care Facilities, the aging Canadian population will better be able to cope with social isolation, and at the same time children and parents will benefit as well.