What are the advantages and disadvantages of having older people living in the family home? Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

In many traditional cultures, members of the same family will live together from childhood to old age. In many cases, older family members living at

home

i

s

Suggestion

are

a trend which has

both

positive and negative aspects. A significant point in favour of

this

is that it p

rovides

Suggestion

Provides

a good support network for parents,

b

oth

Suggestion

Both

of whom may work outside of the

home

. Having grandparents on hand to look after t

he

Suggestion

The

children can potentially provide a more stable environment as the child will have a familiar face at

home

until the parents have finished working. I

nfluence

Suggestion

The influence

of the grandparents extends beyond simple babysitting,

however

. They are able to provide a source of advice and knowledge that can greatly benefit all members of the family on a range of subjects, especially for when there are n

ew born

recently born

newborn

babies in the

home

as

this

can be a stressful time for new parents. There are, of course,

also

disadvantages in having older people at

home

. There is the issue of space, as the family

home

may not be big enough to accommodate everyone comfortably. There is

also

the issue of deciding which members of the family should live together, as

both

the husband and wife may

both

have surviving parents. To conclude, there are clear positives and negatives to having older members of the family living in the same house.

Although

at times there may be frictions typical when people live together,

this

is arguably outweighed by the advantages of the support and knowledge older people are able to offer.