The old drift family in Ji'nan: the hometown where their children can't go back
Shun Net - Ji'nan daily author: by Asian male
a small village of Henan Lankao; Ji'nan is full of 10 hours. It's the 58 year old Li Meiju's favorite place to drive.
in 2015, Li Meiju left home for decades and came to Ji'nan. In the eyes of the old people, Li Meiju can live in the city and take care of his grandson. However, Li Meiju, who has been drifting in Ji'nan for more than two years, feels increasingly lonely.
some scholars have classified the elderly in China according to the intention of emigrating, including supporting children, falling off the roots, pursuing the quality of life and so on. Among them, the proportion of supporting children and their type of children is about 78%, and the old drifters, a nouns with Chinese characteristics, should also be born.
it is a typical state for the old drifters to take care of their grandchildren, wait for their children to go home from work, enjoy the happiness of the day, and endure loneliness and annoyance.
40% for the next generation and drifting
in 2012, when Lv Jinhua sat on a flight from Guiyang to Ji'nan, she didn't think she would stay in Ji'nan for 5 years away from her home.
61 year old Lv Jinhua, the old family in a small mountain village in Anshun, Guizhou, the big daughter has been married in the old house, and after his son graduated from Ocean University of China 7 years ago, he came to Ji'nan to become a civil servant in a unit of the calendar. 5 years ago, when her little granddaughter was born, when her son asked her to take care of her child in Ji'nan, she agreed without saying anything. In Lv Jinhua's mind, it is his duty to help his son take care of the next generation.
when he came to Ji'nan, Lv Jinhua lived in the two - bedroom house of 80 square meters that his son bought in the hi-tech zone. The city was far less spacious than his home. Because of the newly developed property near the residence, there are still lots of wasteland around the high-rise buildings, which is extremely inconvenient for shopping. But looking at her granddaughter growing up, Lv Jinhua chose to float in Ji'nan without complaining.
mobile elderly like Lv Jinhua are increasing year by year. Since 2011, some scholars have begun to focus on the old drifters. Compared with other drift families, apart from the differences between generations, their wandering is mainly for the next generation.
in 2015, the National Health Planning Commission (State Health Planning Commission) conducted a special survey on the health service for the elderly. It showed that among the 247 million floating people in the country, there were nearly 18 million mobile elderly, accounting for 7.2%. "China's current population development report 2016" shows that taking care of the older generation, pension and employment is the three main reason for the flow of the elderly, of which 43% of the older generation of elderly people are taking care of the elderly.
from rural to urban acclimatization
lived for more than two years, still unaccustomed. Li Meiju's son worked in a military unit, and his daughter-in-law was the financial organ of an organ. In early 2015, when her grandson was born, she came to Ji'nan and began her life.
because Li Meiju finds it difficult to communicate with the people around Henan, she looks very quiet in the stroll. She never took the initiative to catch up with others, but quietly watched the 2 and a half years old grandchildren playing on the children's car in the community. The son and daughter-in-law went to work early and late. She took the initiative to buy food, cooking, washing and other household duties in addition to looking after the children.
Hu Yufeng, from Qingdao, was happy when he arrived in Ji'nan. Her daughter took her shopping to buy clothes, and she was able to look at her granddaughter every day. This was a blessing for her. But a few months later, Hu Yufeng found that he was simply not suited to life in Ji'nan. To buy vegetables to run two street eloquence to the farmer's market, the function of rice cooker is not as complex as the kitchen cooker of the old family, out is a tall building, the average two yuan diaper is not as good as an old coarse cloth.Amp; hellip.amp; hellip
in addition, the differences of living habits and childcare concepts also aggravate this A group of water is not satisfied. My daughter and I have different views on feeding their children. When I feed my children, I will try the cold and hot degree first, and my daughter says this is not good for children. Hu Yufeng was somewhat helpless about the difference in the concept of parenting.
in the view of some experts, such a state as Li Meiju and Hu Yufeng is a miniature of the changes in modern family structure under the flow of population, characterized by empty nesters, and loneliness in life. At the present stage, the family structure of the Chinese people has experienced the rule of dividing and recombining first. Population mobility is an important factor in the family division. The raising of grandchildren greatly contributed to the family, which means that most of the mobile elderly have lost their social circle and lost their dominant position in the family.
marginalized outsider
Hu Yufeng lives in a community with colorful old age activities, but she has never been involved in it. Compared with the local retired elderly in Ji'nan, Hu Yufeng felt like an outsider.
5 years ago, 5 years ago, he was the boss of a processing plant in his home. His daughter was studying in Qingdao. After arranging the work in the factory every day, he worked with the workers. Although some of them were tired, the days were very substantial. She blew her eyes in Ji'nan for 3 years, and she had a granddaughter under her knee, but the friends of his family had gradually lost contact. These changes made Hu Yufeng a great fall.
loneliness, fear of illness, but loneliness is more difficult than physical health. The old drifting life of 3 years has made Hu Yufeng, a strong woman who had been the master of his family, became silent. I often dream of my hometown folks, who married her daughter-in-law, who had a grandson, and who I and who had won.Amp; hellip.amp; hellip
Li Meiju and Lv Jinhua felt the same. Lu Jin Hua, who lived in Ji'nan for 5 years, is still very strong. This brings great inconvenience to her social activities. She has been living with her wife and children since she started to drift away. In the countryside, there are still a few acres of land in the country, and his connections are mainly on the phone, and I take care of the children on my side.
because of the differences in language, living habits and ideas, the old drifters tend to think that they are marginalized by the city. In reality, they are also excluded from the mainstream life, social circle and system of the city, and have a sense of loneliness in mind. Unfortunately, many children do not pay attention to the spiritual needs and psychological deficiencies of the elderly. Most families can not communicate with the elderly every day for a variety of reasons. This aggravates the loneliness of the old drifters.
whether their hometown is home?
the flow of population and the process of urbanization are the important factors for the formation of the old drifters, and more and more young people choose to settle in the city. Some sociologists say that in traditional Chinese culture, the relationship between family and family is very important to many parents. The lack of sense of belonging is due to institutional barriers such as household registration and the limitations of language communication.
in many children's eyes, the economy is the way to solve these problems. I know my mother is not used to it here. If we get a high income, we can ask the nanny, then give our parents a pension fee, and send them back to their hometown for their old age. Mr. Li, who worked hard from Heze to Ji'nan, said that making more money has become his pursuit and the only way to make his parents happy for their old age.
an expert from the mental health center of Shandong province believes that in the face of busy children and unfamiliar environment, the social circle of the old drifters is limited, and it is unavoidable to produce loneliness and bad mood. In the long run, it may suffer from mental illness.
an authoritative survey shows that many old drifters are empty, silent, and refusing to participate in social activities. Insomnia and loss of appetite often accompany them. However, many children neglect their parents' emotional needs due to work pressure and other factors.
how to make old drifters happier in their late years? Wang Hui, chairman of the Chinese people's future Holding Co., Ltd., suggested that the government should give full play to the community's role in addition to strengthening basic welfare security, to understand the needs of the elderly, and to carry out some more happy and popular activities. In addition, as the old drifters are far away from their hometown and their original circle of friends, it is easy to fall into the island state in spirit and culture, and the community service departments should pay more attention to their mental health and provide more communication platforms.