Ageing parents -- what is 'normal'?

[Ippagoggy]

I'm mostly interested in hearing from people who have parents in the 65-75 age bracket (but any anecdotal advice regarding other ages would be interesting). Out of the following, at this age bracket, how many of these can/could your parents do:

1. cook a meal confidently
2. use a smart phone confidently to send emails, use facebook, send a text message.
3. book a flight for themselves online
4. deal with a customer service issue with, e.g. british gas, phone company, etc.
5. drive a car

Thanks

My mum is 84. Can do some of those. Not all.

Based on my sample of 5 now octogenarian parents/inlaws/step parents at different ages
[eta table missing, see below]
but of course the smartphone thing is a bit misleading because they were 65 fifteen years ago when smartphones were far less ubiquitous. Today's 65 year olds would mostly be very familiar with smartphones and find them more difficult to forget.

Of the 4 drivers, 2 would still be happy to drive cross-country on unfamiliar motorways, 2 aren't comfortable going outside their own county any more.

Table

At 90 and almost 90, my parents can do 1, 4 and 5. They've never had a smart 'phone and going abroad was easier 25 years ago.

Same.
@Ippagoggy Why are you asking these questions about people aged from only 65? My retirement age is 66. For younger people it will be 68. The majority of people at retirement age have years of capable life ahead of them unless they have specific health problems.

I'm fed up with the perception of people in their 60s as incapable, doddering oldies who are baffled by computers and other tech (which I use every day at work very competently) and too cognitively impaired to drive.

If you're trying to gauge the ages at which people lose these abilities, this thread isn't the way to do it.

I have a very elderly relative who is very mentally sharp and physically ok, but can't use a smartphone, do anything online or drive. It's nothing to do with her capability, she simply never learned to drive and never had a smartphone or computer.

My dad is 72 and does all that, my mum at 70 does points 1 and 2, could probably do 3 and 4 but my dad does them, she has never been able to drive.
My grandparents at 90 and 93 can work Facebook a bit but that's about it.

My dad, 70, can do all the above with no issues. My mum passed away last year at 65 and could do them too.

Forgot to say, my granda at 93 makes three meals a day, my granny could probably do the same but she's in a lot of pain and struggles to stand up for long periods of time.

We are in the middle of that range and can do it all and don’t consider ourselves elderly
But I’m very aware that (at any age) it can all change in one foul swoop of illness or accident.
I agree with a previous poster that some have learned helplessness - my mother certainly did, and was enabled by my father.

Mam is in her mid 80s and can do all them although her self confidence isn't great and she seems to have great trouble with fingerprint recognition. She's given up cooking for hoards and buys turnips precut but still does dinners for immediate family . She doesn't like driving more than a couple of hours in a day and rarely drives at night

Mum is 80 and she can do all of that but in reality she would not book a flight online , worry that she'd book the wrong thing would make her see a travel agent or ask me to do it .

My DP (70) can do all of those things, and do them well. His closest friends are both 79 and do all of them regularly.

If not dead by that age(!) then yes to all of those things. Not Facebook on a smartphone because they refuse to use social media rather than not being able to.

TBH my relatives up to about 85 could do all those things. It's after that things deteriorated.

All of the above, dad 75 and mum 70

My Nan is 88 and can do all those things apart from drive as she's never had a licence anyway

Are you asking for a reason?

My parents are both 74 & can do all bar drive (well, my dad wouldn't be able to cook a meal from scratch but that's because he's never had to, rather than anything to do with his age). My mum was never a great driver, and my dad had been gradually losing confidence so more or less stopped driving a few years ago. He is a bit slower with emails/FB/figuring out what to do than he used to be but no problem other than that.

80 year old my does all of those

I’m 66 and can do all these things without a second thought. My older sister who is 74 can too.

My dad is 67 and can doo all of those things.
He's building a fence and gate for me, he just built a carport too.

My 93yr old granny can cook a meal, uses messenger, she boys stuff online. The only thing she'd have trouble with is a customer service issue because she is quite deaf now.

DM is 85 and can do all those things. DH is 65 and doesn't do smart phone/computers. He doesn't have an email or FB and wouldn't be interesting in knowing where to start. The kids took the piss out of him when after trying to teach him to text, he sent a message to one of them that said, 'Are you there?' and couldn't understand why they didn't instantly answer.

DM is 75 and can do all of that. She’s helping me paint my house at the minute. I have patients though who are in their early 60s and can’t do any of it - I think it depends a lot on whether you have any other medical problems, any cognitive impairment (lots of my patients do), and your general attitude (some people take to the “aged” role very enthusiastically)

My parents are a bit older but at that age

DAD

cook a meal confidently YES
use a smart phone confidently to send emails, use facebook, send a text message. NO
book a flight for themselves online NO
deal with a customer service issue with, e.g. british gas, phone company, etc. YES
drive a car YES

MUM

1. cook a meal confidently YES, but preferred ready made
2. use a smart phone confidently to send emails, use facebook, send a text message. NO
3. book a flight for themselves online NO
4. deal with a customer service issue with, e.g. british gas, phone company, etc. NO
5. drive a car NO

My mum might not be typical as she's always preferred my dad doing things for her

DF - none
DM - all.

DF an alcoholic. His brain went at 50.

Old doesn’t mean loopy or stupid - there’s no excuse for a lot of dependence.