Ageism Adultism and Older Adults

Ageism and Adultism,

To be honest, when I first started reading about adultism and all the things that children don't get to do, I thought, of course they don't get to do those things, they're children!  But then I started thinking about being a kid and how I was treated that I thought was unfair.  I remember that my father raised us as "children should be seen and not heard" or that our opinion wasn't worth much because we were just kids.  I think about how I sometimes feel that way about Sam.  I do value his opinion, but sometimes I think he doesn't know enough about a situation to have a valid opinion.  He gets to make some decisions regarding his room, and his personal space and his clothes, but I feel that he still needs my input on so many things.  Like food- he would eat nothing but junk food/processed food all day long if I let him.  When we're at a restaurant that gives him a choice of 2 sides he would choose fries and mashed potatoes every time if I let them.  So, he can chose the sides, but one of them has to be a green- and not fried. So, I do try to control somethings, but I try to let him have a choice in others.  It's difficult but I do think giving him choices and giving him responsibility.  I could certainly do better.  I do value his opinion, and I will certainly try to remember to let him know that I value it.

Ageism-
I'm a non traditional student.  Mostly I don't think that this affects me negatively, but I guess in some ways it does.  I'm older than most of my cohorts but I don't think that anyone treats me any differently.  I think that my thoughts and my ideas are respected and that my experience gives me a different view on things, but that is  respected as well.
I love working with my younger classmates!  I find their energy and their enthusiasm motivating and I'm happy to have so many smart, responsible young adults in my classes.
I recently overheard another non traditional student (not in this class) questioning a couple of 18 year old freshman about what they did with their free time.  She told them that she worked 50 hours a week while taking 12 hours and that she couldn't possibly imagine what they did when they weren't in school.  I found her questions to be insulting.  I said, they're out being young and having fun and making friends and learning about who they are.  They're discovering what's important and what's not important.  You can't assume that because they don't have a full time job that what they're doing isn't important.   I found her questions to be demeaning like they were just wasting their lives when they are full time students! Maybe she was just envious of their free time.  I don't know.

Older adults
While reading about how different cultures treat their older adults I began to think about my grandparents and how they are treated.  My grandfather is 90 and my grandmother is 85.  They still live in the same house where they raised their 8 children.  They want to remain as independent as they can.  My grandmother still does all of their cooking and laundry and cleaning.  She uses a old fashioned washing machine that you have to manually wring the water out of the clothes and she still hangs them all on the line in the backyard.  Her kids have offered to buy her a traditional washer and dryer but she refuses and they respect that.  They have offered to have my grandparents live in their homes, but they want to remain independent- and my aunts and uncles and father respect that.  My grandparents' opinions are still respected and they still have control over their lives.  I'm so lucky to have them.  I can't imagine why anyone would mistreat their parents or their grandparents.  It makes me really sad when I think about all the older adults who raised their kids and are now living in a nursing home with no visitors or no companionship.

That's all for this week.