Ageing versus active aging: how old age is represented in children’s books

ABSTRACT

In response to population aging observed globally, the active aging model has been proposed to preserve the well-being of more individuals in old age. Since raising awareness about a comprehensive life course perspective of aging, the importance of a sense of well-being in old age, and resources needed to age well early on carries great importance, this exploratory study investigated children's picture storybooks as a source for active aging. The recognized determinants of active aging, as well as ageist stereotypes associated with older characters by gender and family affiliation were examined in a sample of 41 books published between 2008 and 2018 in Turkey for three- to eight-year-olds children. Findings show that there is limited information given implicitly about the factors that determine active aging in the books. They also indicate that ageist and sexist stereotypes, which are considered as obstacles to active aging, are used explicitly, especially while describing older women and older characters outside the family. In addition, the variety in physical characteristics, roles and experiences of older adults in real life is not reflected in the picture books. The discussion of these findings draws attention to some major concerns about how these representaions could affect children's understanding of aging and old age.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• active aging
• children's books
• gender stereotypes
• ageist stereotypes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).