How do you convice elderly people of certain things?

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I am staying with my father with my twins this weekend.

I heard the twins all excited that he was making them pancakes with syrup....then I remembered that we didn't have any syrup.

I went into the kitchen, and to my horror, my father "found" an OPENED bottle of log cabin syrup in the pantry....that had to have been 10 years old or better.

He threw a fit that "sugar doesn't spoil", and I told him under no circumstances was he giving my kids that syrup....he's 80 years old.

I found some strawberry jelly in the fridge, and warmed it up, and we used that and the kids loved it.

He even put some on his finger and said, "See! Still tastes the same!"

I told him, "you can do that to yourself, but you are not feeding my kids food that is twice their age".

How can he be so dumb?

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You can only try to tell them things, you can only try. 10 years to an 80 year is the same as "I just bought it yesterday". I threw out 40 year old medications at my mom's not to long ago. She is 83.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Yup, got the same thing when we offered to paint Mom's house. "We just did that a few years ago!" said Mom.

"A few years ago," to her, was 1971. It was '96 when we made the offer. :icon_roll

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Specializes in nursery, L and D.

Same here with my grandparents. I remember throwing out 45 year old cold sore medication after my grandpa died, that he used right up until the end.

I don't think that he is dumb though, I think they lived through some really hard times, and to not use something that to his mind is still edible, he probably thinks is really wasteful.

You were right not to let him feed it to the kids, but you kind of have to look at these things from their point of view, and their life experience.

ETA: I had to know, so I looked it up! Syrups don't spoil, they can crystallize, in which case you just heat it up to use, or it can mold, in which case the syrup experts say you can just scrape it off and still use it. Ewww.

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How can he be so dumb?

Wow. That's kinda harsh.

I've heard maple syrup won't spoil; not sure of the commercially-produced wannabes tho'. In any case, he probably fed old syrup to you when you were a kid, and you're still around ;)

Wonder how old that jelly was?

:idea:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

How can he be so dumb?

I think that is a bit over the line. I don't know your father, and he may very well be dumb, but let's give him the benifit of doubt.

He's 80. If he grew up like most people of his period, times were hard. You'd be lucky to find any syrup. Waste not, want not. I could very well see my grandma and me having the same conversation, and she is by no means dumb. He also may have a little dementia starting.

Get a little laugh out of it, and advise the kids to be careful what they eat when they are at grandpas. Clean out the cabinets if he'll let ya ;)

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Specializes in ER.
Wow. That's kinda harsh.

I've heard maple syrup won't spoil; not sure of the commercially-produced wannabes tho'. In any case, he probably fed old syrup to you when you were a kid, and you're still around ;)

Wonder how old that jelly was?

:idea:

I've got some Mrs Butterworths here that's around 7 years old that I use when I accidently run out of the good stuff. Hasn't killed me yet.

The Kiddo's grandparents were all Depression babies, or were raised by said babies. I'm sure he ate some questionable things growing up, as I'm pretty sure I did too. The only thing I ever did have an issue with was medicine, so when we would go visit, we had our own Tylenol, cold meds, etc...they all knew to call me if he needed something for the sniffles (since I was the big medical expert! LOL!), and I would tell them what of our little kit to give him.

In return for the questionable banana bread that he ate, they taught him about our family and history, and how to recycle way before being "green" was so cool. While they did things that made me shake my head in disbelief, I'm certain that there was a lot of head shaking behind my back too.

I guess it runs in generations too. One morning, after a particularly hard 24 hour shift, I had crawled into bed without eating breakfast. A few minutes later, the Kiddo (who was about 5 at the time) came in and woke me up with some peanut butter toast he had made so I wouldn't starve to death in my sleep. I was so touched my his caring (and slightly disturbed that my 5 year old was having to take care of me). As I started eating it, he watched sweetly and proudly said, "I even scraped the mold off the bread!" :imbar Yeah, what else could I do? I finished it off and in my mind, won "Mommy of the Year". :p Like grandson, like grandparents.

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Specializes in MPCU.

I generally do not have difficulty convincing elderly people of certain things. Elderly relatives is a completely different matter. I've learned that what works with my father-in-law is to agree with him then do what I intended in the first place. In your example I would have said "Yes maple syrup does not go bad because it's old: it's old because that bottle doesn't taste good, I should have thrown it out long ago." Well that basic technique works for me, could be worth a try.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
Yeah, what else could I do? I finished it off and in my mind, won "Mommy of the Year". :p Like grandson, like grandparents.

I knew there was a reason I didn't want children...

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Maybe next time you visit, you can bring a "goodie basket" of fresh items the kids might enjoy eating at Grandpa's house.

I wish my dad was well enough to make pancakes for my kids.

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Wow. That's kinda harsh.

I've heard maple syrup won't spoil; not sure of the commercially-produced wannabes tho'. In any case, he probably fed old syrup to you when you were a kid, and you're still around ;)

Wonder how old that jelly was?

:idea:

The Jelly, I actually made myself last year...it was freezer jam...well preserved.

Unlike the syrup...I knew what was in it :)

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

My grandmother did this too... she put mayo on a ham sandwich that was out of date like 6 months prior. She kept insisting it was fine but I wouldn't eat it. Next time I went to her house, I brought a new jar and threw the other one out. Told her they had a BOGO at the store and I couldn't use 2 jars. Worked like a charm.

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