Thou Shalt Honor Your Parents (By Taking Their Keys): A Ten Commandments’ Tale

with prolonged health comes prolonged aging. many parents live to past 80 years of age. extended life leads to deteriorating motor vehicle skills. sensory losses to both to vision and hearing combined with diminished reflexes can lead to poor reaction times. as a result, unsafe and deadly driving can occur.

children after often stand in the frontline of this problem. when they see this occurring, to honor their parents, they must start the conversation. they must establish that there will be a time when the car keys will be turned over. this is not an easy topic. the relinquishment of one’s driver’s license can be traumatic. it is something that a parent may have held for 6 decades. now, it will be gone. the freedom lost is emotional. this is made worse by the acknowledgement that bodies’ abilities have diminished. thus, children must take positive and pro-active approaches to make the transition as easy as possible. children may have to pitch in and provide transportation at times. further, community resources may offer transportation services.

this topic is relevant today due to a recent accident in florida. from time to time, we hear of these types of avoidable stories. in miami beach, an elderly woman in a bentley, is reported to have slammed the gas pedal instead of the breaks and reversed into diners. reportedly, this occurred while attempting to parallel park. as a result, one individual was killed and six others were hospitalized. dailymail.com the facts of the story warrant inquiry as to whether the elderly driver should have been driving at all. further, if she owned a bentley, it is likely that she could have afforded a taxi service or chauffer to get around. thus, this incident may well have been preventable.

in sum, sometimes honoring a parent requires dealing with difficult subjects and taking action. thus, spending the time to work through the issue may make for an easier transition.

be well!!

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