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Covid

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Original poster

To ask how do you convince the over seventies to self isolate?

70 replies

Rainbowb · 22/03/2020 16:41

Both my mum and my mother in law are declaring that everybody is hysterical, world has gone mad etc. and are going about everywhere, almost as normal. Both my brother and dh are getting so upset and I am worried too but I don’t know how you can force people to stay at home? The older generation are so stubborn!

OP posts:

ilovecherries · 22/03/2020 19:19

It’s nothing to do with being over 70. Nearly all the older people I know are terrified. My 23 year old daughter’s friends though are still arranging meet ups. (She isn’t, she decided she wanted to be with us, so she’s also pretty much locked down since her work finished). Some people of all ages are sensible. Some of them are selfish gits. Really tired of the ageism this pandemic is promoting.

AngelicInnocent · 22/03/2020 19:28

My mum is self isolating, as are most of her neighbours. She takes her dog out at 7am while it's quiet and then stays home. She is lucky enough to have a wonderful small shop nearby though who is taking telephone orders for elderly people in the village and then does a delivery once a day. They can put the money out when he pulls up and he puts it on the doorstep. He's also running a 'tab' for them to limit handling cash. So if its £8 and they pay £10, he takes £2 off the next shop, if it's £10.50, they pay £10 and he adds 50p to the next shop.

nitgel · 22/03/2020 19:37

My dad is 90 and goes out really early every morning to get his paper and bits in the pensioner hour and I'm so worried for him. I have asked him to stay in. I don't know what to do. Am wondering if he will get the letter but he doesn't have any of the conditions on the list. I feel everything is really stepping up and thought there would be firmer advice.

Original poster

Rainbowb · 22/03/2020 19:42

Obviously I didn’t mean all 70 year olds, just the ones who refuse to comply with keeping away from other people. Of course I know that younger people aren’t complying either but all I meant was that if a person who is more at risk isn’t interested in protecting themselves, how on earth can you convince them to do so?

OP posts:

Honeyroar · 22/03/2020 19:48

I think some of them won’t realise or accept it until someone they know or have heard of dies. A lot of people seem to think they’re being brave!

Petiolaris · 22/03/2020 19:50

I managed to convince my DM to stay in by telling her if she caught it she could pass it to me and DS. She’s not concerned about herself but she’s stopped going out because she thinks she’s keeping us safe. DF is another matter entirely - he said he’d rather die than not get his daily paper. Only a lockdown will keep him indoors.

ilovesooty · 22/03/2020 20:17

The older generation are so stubborn sounds like a generalisation to me.

I spoke to an 85 year old friend this afternoon who is taking this very seriously. OTOH I am aware of a group of people much younger who went on a hen weekend just now for a cancelled wedding and spent their time getting pissed in a cottage and lounging in a hot tub.

It's the ageist generalisations I'm finding tiresome.

SilverySurfer · 22/03/2020 20:46

I'm in my 70s, self isolating, I have family and friends aged from 72 - 92 who are all self isolating. On the other hand I know people in their 50s who think its just a bad cold and nothing serious and despite having bed health, refuse to self isolate.

Now will you fuck off with the ageism, I'm sick of it on here.

WhatTheHellHappenedArgh · 22/03/2020 20:48

My 77 year old granddad has COPD and went to buy petrol today, paid at the counter, didn't use gloves, then went with his 80 year old wife to buy chicken at the supermarket. They pay for everything with cash and refuse to have online deliveries.

They will not listen.

AlexaAmbidextra · 22/03/2020 21:50

Now will you fuck off with the ageism, I'm sick of it on here.

Quite.

pigsDOfly · 22/03/2020 23:39

Now will you fuck off this the ageism, I'm sick of it on here.

On this and several other threads, it's relentless.

Perhaps us older mners who are staying in our homes should keep starting posts moaning about the young and middle aged who are still going out and about to touristy places, or meeting up with their friends in large groups and the families with young children who are congregating in the parks and beaches.

Idiots come in all shapes and sizes and all age groups. Your mum or granny might be one of those idiots. Very many of us older people aren't.

mondaypolomint · 22/03/2020 23:54

There's far too much demonising oh older people here. It's Patronising and sanctimonious. Back off and go out and offer to help your frail and elderly neighbours with shopping and other tasks instead of coming on here moaning about your elderly relatives.

I, as a lot of us could complain about various age groups not complying with social distancing rules

DramaAlpaca · 23/03/2020 00:56

Hear, hear pigsDOfly and mondaypolomint. The casual ageism which has always been around on MN has ramped up considerably in the last few days. From what I've seen locally, it's younger people flouting the advice.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 23/03/2020 01:01

I told my mother it's her LITERAL funeral if she continues to refuse to self isolate. She's in her 70s with severe asthma and a heart condition, but thinks this is a lot of fuss over nothing

OrganzaLopez · 23/03/2020 01:25

It's very frustrating, i'm 'preparing to lose loved ones early before their time' as bojo said. I wonder if they are fed up with life already.

DeRigueurMortis · 23/03/2020 01:55

Thankfully my DP's and PiL's are being sensible and self isolating.

We've being doing regular calls and made sure they are ok for supplies (though to be fair they've both been good about getting online deliveries sorted even if it's a week away and thankfully they have enough to last in the meantime). We've made clear we can drop stuff off if needed but they are saying they are ok for now.

Tbh I'd never though I'd have a chat with my DM about the contents of her freezer...

That said they are both reporting that some (a minority) of their friends are just being reckless.

Calling today about how their families have been to visit (at their friends insistence), playing golf, shopping, coffee meetings and social meet ups etc

DM said she's seriously re-evaluating some friendships right now.

There are a majority of over 70's taking this seriously and those that are not are earning the disrespect of those who are not.

Age (young or old) is no barrier to stupidity.

Topseyt · 23/03/2020 02:31

My parents are in their eighties and are thankfully taking this seriously. They are self-isolating most of the time except for their food shopping.

To be honest, my Dad's medical conditions (COPD, and others), put him in an extremely vulnerable category. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets one of the letters discussed in the PM's briefing.

This scares me. I am in a fairly vulnerable category myself, and I live a three hour drive from them. We can't see each other for the foreseeable future now, and I just hope that they don't get ill during that time or I might never see them alive again.

Deelish75 · 23/03/2020 02:56

There are some over 70’s taking this seriously.
My dad and step mum, (late 70’s) are doing their best to isolate, shopping locally at quiet times - refuse to do online. They are going out for drives and going for walks somewhere quiet.
My PIL are the same, DP’s sister lives close to them so she and her adult son are dropping supplies of to them a couple of times a week. PIL also going out for drives to quiet areas to get fresh air.

But there are some who aren’t. This week I’ve heard one man say it’s a hoax and another claimed it’s an excuse for the doctors to slack off and have a jolly (I’d nipped into my GP’s to pick up my repeat prescription, but the surgery wasn’t actually running just telephone consultations) I gave that idiot a bit of a tongue lashing. I think it’ll be when some of them start to fall seriously ill with it will they start taking it seriously, which by then will be too late.

LonginesPrime · 23/03/2020 02:58

Show them a video of the morgues and ICUs in Italy?

PotholeParadise · 23/03/2020 03:37

If we could survey it accurately, I think ignorance of what's at stake would very likely be broadly similar across the age-groups. The difference is that we:

a) care more about our vulnerable parents going on unnecessary trips than we do our similar-aged siblings/cousins, because they're vulnerable, and;

b) they're the relatives we have the least power to persuade. We can keep our children in, but our parents are adults, who feel totally entitled to ignore our advice. I couldn't persuade my parents that I could install wi-fi properly. Fat chance I would have telling them that they were 'grounded' for 12 weeks!

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