If you think that you live with your grandparents and that is enough, then you are wrong. You need to understand that your grandparents’ love for us is selfless and immense.
They are the ones who have brought up your father/mother. Their role and contribution in bringing up your parents cannot be taken lightly. And whenever your parents sometimes forget this reality, you should remind your parents about their sacrifices.
You should tell your parents that whenever they plan or think of anything about the family they should equally think about your grandparents. Our grandparents are an integral part of your family.
We should help our grandparents in Healthy Aging and it doesn’t only mean that they get food. We should give them a balanced diet and help them in taking medicines and make them feel important. These three things are very important for their healthy ageing.
A magazine known as “HealthyAging” is awarded the top 10 health magazines and is celebrating 30 years of Healthy Aging in September. This magazine is basically about how to get healthy ageing. They have given some tips to be healthy.
We should encourage our grandparents to follow these tips, like “Move more, sit less” this means your grandparents should exercise every day to control Blood Pressure, and prevent heart attack and other heart problems and as per stats 20 minutes per day of exercise is enough. We can also use our Technology to track the record of health and exercise of our grandparents.
Also, as I said a balanced diet is also important. So tell your grandparents to cut out on salt, sugar and fats because these things can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes. Encourage them to take more vegetables and fruits.
But I will stress here on taking good care of the mental state of your grandparents. Unfortunately, some children abandoned their parents or grandparents which causes mental problems in them. Even in Kashmir, this happens but we don’t think about it. This is a very big issue which has to be looked at and solved. It’s a harsh reality. This reality is called “Elder Abuse”.
At the White House Conference on Aging Obama said “ We’re going to train more prosecutors in how to combat elder abuse”. This thing is becoming true for Kashmir also.
I want to sensitise you people about the importance of your grandparents. Your love towards them is their life, give them your love and help them age with dignity.
Ausaf Ur Rehman
6th, DPS.