caring for the elderly

Mini Debates
Caring for the Elderly
Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

Caring for the Elderly
The elderly are becoming the fastest growing population in Canada.
The improvements in health care and diet are helping people to have

1. Is the population of senior citizens getting bigger or
smaller in your country?
2. What are the advantages of people living to an older
age?

longer and better lives. Sometimes senior citizens are able to live

3. What are the disadvantages of people living longer?

normal lives and care for themselves until a very old age - but as

4. Do you think that the quality of life is better now than
it was fifty years ago?

most people age - they need care takers at some point. As a result,
more middle-aged adults are responsible for taking care of their
aging parents. These people are often called “parent-sitters”.

5. How are most elderly people taken care of in your
community?

Parent-sitters often have their elderly parents move in with them.
The parent-sitters usually have busy lives raising their own children,

going to school or going to full-time jobs. It is especially difficult to
take care of a parent when they are ill with diseases, such as
blindness, Alzheimer’s or arthritis.
Sometimes a parent-sitter will decide to put a parent in a nursing
home, especially if the parent becomes very ill and requires 24-hour
care. This decision is very difficult and often leaves the child feeling
guilty and ashamed for not taking care of the parent at home. Many
people feel it is the young person’s duty to take care of their elder
family member.
Nowadays, people are living much longer, often into their 90s, so it
is sometimes not possible for family members to care of these

COMPREHENSION 1

people at home. The choice of caring for aging parents at home or
putting them in a nursing home has become a very difficult one.

1. What group of people is becoming the fastest growing
population in Canada?
2. Why are people living longer lives?
3. Who are the parent-sitters?
4. Why is it difficult for parent-sitters to take care of their
parents?
5. Why is it a difficult decision for a child to put their
parent into a nursing home?

1
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Mini Debates
Caring for the Elderly
VOCABULARY REVIEW 1
A. Match the words on the left with the correct meaning on the right.
_____1. nursing home

a. older people

_____2. parent-sitter

b. the usual food and drink that a person consumes

_____3. guilty

c. people who are between the ages of 40-60

_____4. Alzheimer’s

d. being unable to see

_____5. diet

e. a person who takes care of one or both of their parents

_____6. blindness

f. special hospital where older people live until they die

_____7. middle-aged

g. feeling that one has done something wrong

_____8. duty

h. feeling bad about something that one has done

_____9. ashamed

i. a responsibility or obligation

_____10. elderly

j. a disease that causes a person to lose their memory
and ability to move

B. Choose the right word(s) from the left column above to complete the following sentences.
1. John took $25 from his sister’s purse. Now he feels ____________________
and _____________________.
2. Susan’s mother is 90 years old. She has ________________________ disease
and can’t remember very much any more.

DISCUSS IT
Work with a partner or in small groups.
Discuss the following questions.
1. Do you think it is wrong to put a parent
into a nursing home?
2. Who is responsible for caring for the
elderly?
3. Do you think that only the oldest child in

a family is responsible for caring for the
elderly parent?
4. Should an elderly parent be put in a
nursing home?
5. What do you think is the best way to care
for the elderly?

3. My friend only eats fruits and vegetables. She has a very healthy
________________________ .
4. My grandmother lives in a ________________________ . She is taken care of
by nurses because she has become ill.

6. Do you think that it is better that people
are living longer lives?

WRITE IT 1

5. People who are 50 years old are called ________________________ .
Choose one of the questions above and
write a paragraph stating your own
opinion.

DEBATE IT
Below are two topics to debate in small groups or pairs. Your teacher will tell you if you will be debating for or against the
idea. You will have ten minutes to prepare your arguments.
Topic #1:
Adult children are always responsible for taking care of an elderly parent at home.
Topic#2
Elderly parents should live in a nursing home.
2

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Mini Debates
Caring for the Elderly

ANSWER KEY
Please note:
The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).
Comprehension:
1. The elderly are becoming the fastest growing population in Canada.
2. The improvements in health care and diet are helping people to have longer and better lives.
3. The middle-aged adults are “parent-sitters”.
4. The parent-sitters usually have busy lives raising their own children, going to school or going to full-time
jobs. It is especially difficult to take care of a parent when they are ill with diseases, such as blindness,
Alzheimer’s or arthritis.
5. This decision is very difficult and often leaves the child feeling guilty and ashamed for not taking care of the
parent at home. Many people feel it is the young person’s duty to take care of their elder family member.

Vocabulary:
A. Match the words
1. f
2. e
3. g
10. a

4. j

5. b

B. Choose the correct word
1. guilty, ashamed
2. Alzheimer's

3. diet

6. d

7. c

4. nursing home

8. i

9.h

5. middle-aged

3
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact for complete details.


Mini Debates
Caring for the Elderly

Caring for the Elderly

The elderly are becoming the fastest growing population in Canada. The improvements in health care and diet are

helping people to have longer and better lives. Sometimes senior citizens are able to live normal lives and care for
themselves until a very old age - but as most people age - they need care takers at some point. As a result, more
middle-aged adults are responsible for taking care of their aging parents. These people are often called “parentsitters”.

Parent-sitters often have their elderly parents move in with them. The parent-sitters usually have busy lives
raising their own children, going to school or going to full-time jobs. It is especially difficult to take care of a
parent when they are ill with diseases, such as blindness, Alzheimer’s or arthritis.

Sometimes a parent-sitter will decide to put a parent in a nursing home, especially if the parent becomes very ill
and requires 24-hour care. This decision is very difficult and often leaves the child feeling guilty and ashamed for
not taking care of the parent at home. Many people feel it is the young person’s duty to take care of their elder
family member.

Nowadays, people are living much longer, often into their 90s, so it is sometimes not possible for family members
to care of these people at home. The choice of caring for aging parents at home or putting them in a nursing home
has become a very difficult one.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact for complete details.