Opinion: Baby boomers know their own minds

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It must be very confusing for older people at present with the plethora of facts, figures and so called helpful information being targeted at them.

There's an avalanche pouring in daily. Open any newspaper or magazine and you'll see where older people are being served up material and tips on how to live, and cope, on every conceivable topic.

How to plan for retirement, best places to retire to, work part time, ways to retire on less money, managing money to make it last, international trips for retirees, things to know about reverse mortgages, when to downsize the family home, to go grey or not to go grey, eating healthy, staying fit and active, til death do us part. I used to read it all. Not anymore.

It was the article "Healthy Sex While Ageing" that put a stop to my reading. It was the tone that got me. The article was an insult to the intelligence of older people. Very condescending. I retrieved and reread other articles and found I wasn't mistaken. They were all written in similar view. Obviously by people who had not yet reached the third age. Nothing wrong with that necessarily but the writers must think older people have no life experience, came down in the last shower. That would be a big fat mistake.

Governments have known for years that the baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, would be making their presence felt from 2011 onwards. That this should be planned for. But why would we not think that baby boomers themselves wouldn't be doing their own planning. They are not stupid. This is new territory for them too. I'm sure they appreciate the myriad of books and articles being made available for them to read and digest. But it does make you wonder how they managed all these years without the numerous guidebooks served up today.

Baby boomers observed how hard their parents worked and followed suit. There wasn't the well-established entrenched welfare system we have today. Some enjoyed fun years as "flower people" during the hippie era with many becoming protesters and activists at the time of the Vietnam War. By and large they just got on with life.

Worked, saved and bought a house. Along came children then grandchildren. And now suddenly they are supposed to be vulnerable. That's the impression you get when thumbing through popular magazines today. Telling older people what they should and should not do. What to expect and how to prepare themselves for old age.

All areas are covered and that's what I find worrying. Is there nothing that older people are doing and enjoying right now that doesn't need to be tampered with?

I think we run the real risk of starting to see older people as some sort of deficit. The language we use to refer to them is changing too. They need to be on their guard. Otherwise it could become self-fulfilling.

Healthy baby boomers are expected to live longer. At some stage they may need to be supported and there will be stresses and strains on families and government as they cross the threshold into old age. But don't drown them in "helpful" stuff. Let them use their own brains and minds to figure out how best to live their remaining years. That's the only area I am interested in reading about now, the mind. That's where I believe it all happens. How to keep the mind active, alert and open while ageing.

It is the mind that is life, making life even as we age. No clogging required.

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait is a Rotorua district councillor, Lakes District Health Board member and chairs the North Island Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency. She writes, speaks and broadcasts to thwart political correctness.