In a historical moment like ours, where politics struggles to represent the interests of citizens and remembers only the reasons of a few, recovering the historical memory of the country and being aware of how we got there so as not to let events cross us , but understanding them is essential to bring the older ones into the lives of the new generations.
In Italy there are fewer and fewer children and young people are getting married late, but grandparents can be the starting point. In the peninsula, the majority of elderly people live their age well and consider their entire existence a source of pleasure (they are 73% of the elderly), despite the fact that the figure is slightly down on the European average which is equal to 74%. For the over 65s, the perception of usefulness is favored by the ability to manage one's daily life independently, by the request for advice and opinions from one's family or friends, by the possibility of calling friends and relatives to comfort them when they are not well.
These data emerged from the 2018 edition of the survey “Today's Seniors in Europe. Feel useful for aging well” conducted by the research company Ipsos for the Korian Foundation for quality aging (Institut du Bien Vieillir Korian).
The survey compared the data collected in France, Italy, Germany and Belgium through the answers of more than 8 interviewees. The sample is represented by women and men aged between 15 and 64 and older than 64 years.
Compared to the European average, Italian grandparents give advice to their children and grandchildren (44% against the European average of 27%), keep themselves updated on innovations (39% against 42% in Europe) and look after their grandchildren (35% against 28% ). And that's not all: they help with household chores (25% vs 15%), host family members during the holidays (19% vs 17%), propose and organize family reunions (22% vs 19%).
Our elderly are the most thrifty in Europe: 54% manage to save, followed by Germans (47%), French (44%) and Belgians (41%). It is no coincidence that the survey reveals that the over 65s of the Belpaese are much more involved in the life of the family they belong to than the European average: 40% help their children or other family members financially, against the European average of 24% , much lower.
“The results of the Ipsos survey show us how central the role of Italian Seniors is in the family life and in the social and economic fabric of our country”, explains Mariuccia Rossini, President of the Korian Group in Italy. “However, the survey reveals that senior Italians are the least numerous to feel themselves citizens with full rights compared to their European peers and this figure is an important indicator because it shows that there are still large areas of intervention to improve the quality of life of our senior citizens. 65, both with better assistance measures and with professional and social involvement projects".
