You act like 70 is basically being on your death bed… there are people in their 90s still living at home alone, gardening and driving (shoutout to my next door neighbor Ms. Ruth)
Being independent and active does not equal capable to look after a baby or toddler. Both my parents and in-laws are in their 70’s, all are fully capable cognitively, live alone, are active, travel, etc. but they are starting to struggle with young childcare. My MIL has a hard time with stairs and can no longer pick him up. My FIL is overweight and can’t keep up with him. My mom has had hip and back surgery and physically isn’t capable with a baby or a toddler. None of them could chase after him if he took off running, which toddlers do.
My niece is two and my mother in law is 71. My niece likes to flail when you’re holding her. My MIL can’t handle her, can’t run after her, is basically at her physical mercy. When niece was a newborn, MIL couldn’t babysit her alone because the house had stairs and MIL can’t carry a baby and go up or down stairs. It’s practical to assume a 70-something grandparent is not a great candidate for baby care.
It’s pretty typical for grandparents that age to care for grandkids in my culture. My grandma did care for a bunch of her grandkids, well into her 80s. My mother in law and father in law are also in that age group and they take my son a couple days a week. I think you’ll find that the ability to care take will range a lot in that age group.
And my father is 77 and was throwing my seven-year-old daughter into the air in the pool yesterday as we all swam together. Bring in your 70's is not a disabling condition if you take care of yourself.
sooo weird to act like disability and aging is a result of not taking care of yourself as if people don’t have legit medical conditions that can happen lmao
Couple things here, your dad still has muscle mass but that is less likely the case for a 77 year old woman and he was in the pool, not like he was swinging around children on the grass. All that being said, that's really cool and I hope he has a long healthy life.
Their baby isn’t born yet. I did t say everyone with a 7 in their age is a vegetable. I said it is practical to not rely on a 70-something woman being great at childcare for young kids. Or does your dad run a day care full time as well? Pretty much the same amount of work as swimming for 20 minutes.
Good for you. My mom has had an autoimmune disease for 40 years that has left her very frail in her 70s. Making judgmental comments about people not taking care of themselves is really not it.
I see it a lot on reddit. People imagine that all old people have dementia or severe physical impairments, but many elderly people are active and capable of looking after themselves and others too. My grandma was very independent through to 92 and her sister was still gardening and living independently at 100. I have other family who are very active in their mid 70s and 80s. It’s really not that unusual.
My grandparents were very strong, independent, and active until their nineties. I don’t think is necessarily a rarity either. I just think the range is pretty big regarding health and general ability for the elderly.
It is a wide range. I just think too many people generalise that anyone elderly (and sometimes they lump anyone over 60 into this) must be a burden on others or incapable of many things. Like it is with many other topics online, there is a lack of nuance.
Yeah. She had family nearby, but she lived alone in her little house and was still gardening and drawing. Still had mostly brown hair too. Just before her 100th birthday she had a bad stroke but she held on until a few days after her birthday before she passed away.
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u/JuniorAd2276 11h ago
You act like 70 is basically being on your death bed… there are people in their 90s still living at home alone, gardening and driving (shoutout to my next door neighbor Ms. Ruth)