Nuclear Family Vs Joint :-))

Well, this thought struck me when I was a reading a article today in The Hindu, where a person in his old age was explaining the difficulties they see in their old age.I do not know which is beneficial, but sometimes I feel as if the joint family system has a better score in every way especially in the old age. Each and every person was assigned a responsibility depending on their age and skill.Parents looked after their childern when they needed protection and the latter looked after their parents when they needed help. The nuclear system probably is a winner in the young age but I guess inspite of all the flaws joint famiy system is a clear winner in the old age.A similar incident in US, when my husband and I were having lunch in an Indian restaurent where a family sat beside us and I guess the parents had come from India.They were ordering food and when the food arrived, the son and the daughter in law immediately grabbed their own and started having it and only the grand dad's food had not arrived, and when he asked the son replied stating"you did not order any appetizer so thats why you did not get it" the grand dads face sunk and immediately grand mom offered her share to him.Have we become so mechanical that we even forgot our basic table manners, or have we become so western that we don think about our parent's needs or the sacrifices they have done for us.I immediately placed my parents in that situation was able to realise what would have gone through in their mind. But the parents did not utter even the slightest of dissatisfaction.May be thats the difference and thats why they are respected for what they ave achieved.This particular incident left a great impact in me. In the intial stages of my marital life I also wished for a joint family coz I wanted someone to guide me in that part of life which was completely new to me n I was totally inexperienced to handle anything in life:-))..I just wish the younger generation realises the irony of old age and to the extent of possibily for a greater care and concern for the old.