Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

In a nearby void deck, I observed an old man carrying bags of groceries back from the market. After I interviewed him, I found out that he was living with his son's family and he mostly helps out with the chores even though he has poor eyesight. Before, he had to travel to his daughter's home to take care of his nephews. But recently, his daughter quit her job to take care of her children and the old man could stay at home instead. I think that his children had taken him into consideration and did not want their father to travel a lot because of his old age. He said that he still had to take care of his son's children, but they are older than their cousins, so they are easier to take care of, allowing him to be more relaxed in life.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

After observing my maternal grandmother for a day, I realised how hard it is for her to move from the living room to the kitchen or bedroom. At home, she would avoid walking as her maid could help her get water and prepare food but she walks when she goes to the toilet or to her bedroom to rest. Whenever my grandmother goes out, she would have to use a wheelchair so she does not need to walk and her maid would push her as her arms are too weak to push herself on the wheelchair for a long period of time.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

After observing my grandfather in his day, I found out how long it takes for him to cook meals. He has to cook for my family everyday without a break. Having to remember all the recipes all the time and sometimes add new ones can be quite hard to do. Whenever he starts cooking dinner, after every dish he would stop to have a small break and start to smoke, before continuing. Frequently my grandfather would get burnt while cooking, making it inconvenient for him to stop cooking halfway and wash the burnt part. Although he has put on plasters on his fingers so when cooking oil hits his fingers, it would not be as painful, I can see that he is enduring the pain but does not show it, as he had been cooking for a very long time and might have gotten used to the pain.

Holiday work - Part 1:Understanding the 'The Elderly Challenge'

1) The key recommendations are to make homes less likely for the elderly to have accidents, to make places and public transport more accessible and convenient for the elderly, to help the less well off Singaporeans be able to use the services which help the elderly and to keep more senior citizens fit and healthy

2) The Government want to make an elder-friendly environment by introducing more safety features to senior homes and making them more accessible and convenient for seniors.

3) i) We can top up our Medisave Accounts so we can afford healthcare services. ii)

4) i) We can organise some events for the elderly to help them to exercise. ii) We can help senior citizens when we see them. iii) We can volunteer to help our neighbours who are senior citizens living alone, who are weaker, etc

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

When I observed my grandmother with more alertness, I realised how troublesome it is for the elderly when words are too small for her eyes to see. She normally would have to strain her eyes to read small-print words, this is also quite slow as she has to slowly identify each chinese character. She also asks other people to help her read words too small. My grandmother feels that it obstructs her reading and she tries to avoid it as when she strains her eyes it hurts. She feels that it is very painful if she opens her eyes for a long time. My grandmother rests her eyes often to cope with her eyesight problem. All these problems occur as my grandmother's eyes are getting old.