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Comment by defrost | Hacker News Reader

Smother them with 4 year olds.

No, seriously:

>> A unique social experiment that brings together elderly people in a retirement community with a group of 4-year-olds. Could this encounter between young and old help transform the lives of the elderly?

https://thetvdb.com/series/the-old-peoples-home-for-4-year-o...

https://thetvdb.com/series/old-peoples-home-for-4-year-olds

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-o...

Multiple studies in both the UK and Australia demonstrate increased mobility, memory, communication, happiness, etc in older people when mixed in with young children.

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I was always struck when I lived in China how young, happy and active the elderly all seemed, even though they were much the same age as elderly folk where I grew up (the UK).

I had a feeling it must be at least partly due to their increased role in child rearing among most families.

This is partly just traditional Chinese culture but probably also comes in part due to the awful working hours most Chinese people tend to face. It's very common to just dump your kids on your parents out there.

It does cause some issues, as the grandparents tend to have more ... traditional parenting approaches (corporal punishment fairly common) but for the elderly themselves it's definitely something they really look forward to in their later years.

> China how young, happy and active the elderly all seemed

probably because they haven't been exposed to a lifetime of processed foods like here in the west.

Definitely depends where in China for this to be true. Shanghai or Beijing? Won't be much, if any, better than in the US. Countryside? Likely will be much better, but food is often scarce in general in these areas.

My assumption is that it could be multifactorial, societal and family integration along with diet and who knows what else. Life is stupidly complex

This was in a major city (Guangzhou). I think China has its own issues with food safety and additives. Very little regulatory action has led to some very nasty stories about adulteration and gastric problems.

I think when I was in China I was basically in a perpetual state of food poisoning for several years.

Or just let them die, as they should. Why we should all suffer from the Prince Charles's Effect?

May be because people (at least some) love their parents and miss them when they are gone?

Fair enough, but at some point it is worth asking if their longevity is on their best interest and not on yours. Many old people just want to die since they are not able to take care of themselves, and want to go away with dignity. Their descendants sometimes insist on keeping them chugging along as a weird kind of pet. That is weird and wrong. Just let them go, we are all going the same way anyway.

I agree with the sentiment, but I think it's implied in these discussions that they are looking for healthy longevity, not lying in bed unable to take care of oneself for an extra 10 years. It's even in OP's question that they started this research after noticing mental decline so one can reasonably conclude they are looking to halt or reverse the effects.

> Many old people just want to die

This doesn't reflect my experience, at least with my understanding of "many" and "old". My 90 yo grandma can't walk and is on oxygen most of the day and very much doesn't want to die.

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