How Marital Relationship Effects Old Parents?

In the last phase of life, old parents depend on their children due to decreased physical and mental capacities.

- Dr. Mehfooz Ahmed

In majority of cases old parent is taken care of by the son and daughter-in-law. The relationship between husband and wife play significant role in quality of care done to old parents. Proper care of old parents is possible only when both husband and wife maintain healthy marital relationship.

In harmonious relationship both husband and wife take responsibility of old parents happily without considering it as a burden. In return the good health of the parents facilitate the healthy marital relationships in couple since the parents can share the responsibilities of the young couple e. g. helping in household works, taking care of the grandchildren. If their medical expenditure on old parents decreases, they can spend that money for the welfare of the children and the grandchildren. If the couple face difficulty in marital relationship it may lead to marital disharmony which is not good for the better health of old parents.

In marital disharmony couple become rigid regarding their role towards old parents. The old parents may develop the guilt feeling about themselves and think that other parents would be living happily. Sometime young couples underestimate the understanding level of the old parents and assume that they do not understand the nature of relationship between husband and wife.