Aging self-stereotypes are formed in childhood and reinforced throughout our life span.
- Discussion 1
Aging self-stereotypes are formed in childhood and reinforced throughout our life span. We learn these stereotypes in childhood by our environment (culture and social interactions). These stereotypes are solidified through our life span by our own experiences as well as our social interactions and culture.Some steps that we can take to eradicate the cycle of these stereotypes would be to educate ourselves. Even if we do not intend to pursue a career in geriatrics, we can learn about aging. We can do that on an individual basis by spending time with older adults and talking to them. Another thing I think we can do is normalize talking about aging. The details of aging is often times not talked about in social settings outside of the comments of “don’t get old” or one line jokes about it all being downhill once you hit a certain age. We don’t seem to openly talk about what aging intel’s and means. Unless we are discussing the decline in health that we all “assume” should go with age Before this week’s article I did not even know what gerontology was. I maybe behind the boat on that, but I feel like to draw people into the field it’s something that everyone needs to know exists. Along with more public awareness that it is a field that can be pursued educational/scholarship assistance for those that were interested in the field could also help. School that offered a degree program that also can offer paid internships in the field I think could also help. Of all those things, though, I think the most important thing would be teaching people not to be afraid of aging or older adults. Again, the first thing that stands out to me about retooling for an aging America is to break the cycle of fear surrounding aging. The next is better training. Healthcare workers, social workers, and mental health workers should all be trained in how to best care for aging adults. Our laws/regulation’s need to be re-evaluated from a financial perspective. We currently offer little and limited assistance to older adults when it comes to financial assistance to older adult Social Justice would apply to the concept of aging stereotypes. So many of our aging stereotypes take rights and opportunities away from older adults. Looking at these stereotypes with a lens of social justice can help us to dismantle them. Most of the stereotypes we have around aging take away rights. For example: if my aging father wanted to buy a new guitar, I might say, Dad, you don’t need a guitar, you’re to old to play anymore. I have not only taken away his right to spend his money however he wanted to, I have also taken the opportunity of playing the guitar away from him.
Discussion 2
According to Dr. Rebecca Levy aging self-stereotypes begins in childhood and throughout adulthood. She believed the assumptions we incorporate as children are reinforced as adults and evolve into self-stereotypes. Our perceptions of the elderly is shaped by the reactions and responses of people in our surroundings.
One step we can take to eradicate the cycle of these stereotypes is by spending time with the elderly. If we have a relationship with the elderly we can pass on to our children some of our positive experiences. We can also take our children around the elderly so they can see our positive interactions. Another way is we can learn to have a healthy lifestyle. Our children are always watching us, they can see how we age and the ways we are dealing with aging.
One strategy to draw professionals into the field of gerontology is to make it more of a high demand field. For example, in a college curriculum you can easily take courses for marriage & family therapist. I’ve never seen or heard of field of gerontology until this course. I would say have a course dedicated to this profession. After that I would offer awards and grants to motivated professionals to take a look at what this field has to offer. Also another way is the interaction between professionals and the elderly. In this specific niche, students and professionals can utilize the interaction and functionality of the aging individual (Parker, 2016).
One way to retool for a aging America in terms of career, opportunities, and services is to offer more of these resources to the elderly. Having events, social activities, or outings. For example, my aunt is 80 years old and has never driven. My uncle would drive her to places and take her on social outing. They were married when they were 18. Now that my uncle has passed she doesn’t want to leave her house. I think if there were more opportunities of support groups where she met with other women in her circumstance, not just to talk about it, but to do activities like cook together, make a blanket together, or dance together she would enjoy her life a little better without his presence.
Aging stereotypes applies to emotional intelligence. If we are going to have interactions with the elderly we have to be empathic of their life journey’s. We have to try to understand their emotions and not let our own emotions get in the way of what their telling us. In nursing homes the elderly is perceived as rude and mean. We have to understand their story and why they are angry. We can’t be quick to judge something we’ve never experienced.
Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.
Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS
Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?
Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.
We write plagiarism Free Content
Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.
Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.