My 77 years old mother in-law, seems like a 5 year old kid

My grandmother is doing things like this too, but it's mostly because she has Alzheimer...

It sounds like she has dementia or something like that. If she has been dependent on others for quite some time, that can happen. By dependent I mean having to wait for someone to take her somewhere, having to wait for someone to cook for her or otherwise take care of her. As a 72 and almost 73 year old, I have a viewpoint from the other side. Losing independence is traumatic. It comes in increments but is never addressed as something one needs to work through or learn to accept. When our bodies begin to betray us by breaking down and we can't do the things we used to do, we are lost. Insecure, sad and lonely because no one seems to understand what we are going through. To top that off, the world keeps changing. Styles change in music, in clothing, in slang, in attitudes and it's hard to keep up. As we run out of life energy, we don't even want to keep up, so we are not able to fully take part of our world any more. We would like to carry on a conversation but no one is interested in what we would like to talk about. It's easy to see how rebellion sets in. I have said it myself: "At my age, I will do more of what I please." And if she is hiding and eating things she shouldn't, how much will that effect her life span? At 77 she has lived a lot already. If she feels like she has no control over her food, of course she's going to hide it. What she needs more than anything is respect, any amount of independence you can give her, and lots of love.

In fact at this age because of lack of many hormones in the body they tend to behave like that and they always want attention from others! I am happy that you are not annoyed with her and taking care of her to know all these things that what she is doing dear friend @cheche28 ! May God bless us all! Thanks!

omg! That's my mother-in-law. She keeps her m&ms inside her bedroom. And she nabs my daugther's toy or sometimes hits my baby. My daughter has become so aggressive since we moved here. Sometimes,she even yells at my daughter like a kid.

I can't relate, thankfully it never happened to my grandparents..

They say that Life goes a full circle. You become a child once again in your old age. I have heard of many such cases from friends and relatives. My 79 year old MIL is on strict diet due to kidney issues. She also hides food stuff that she is not supposed to eat

I feel kids and old people are same that is why they both can be good friends and do the same actions. This may be because of the Hormonal imbalances.

Is she demented already? Is she taking medicine for that? My mother-in-law is already having mild dementia. She forgets all the recent things she just did. She asks the same question 6 times in a day. But she still can recognize all of us.

No but do note that these are early warning signs of senile. They are starting to slip backwards where they would behave like children, loses the recent days memories but could still remember what happen years ago. They also eventually not be able to recongnise their family members and home. Early treatment can help to delay and prolong the possibility of a full blown senile from happening

As others have said, she may be in the early stages of dementia. Treat her carefully as she may be confused. I'm older than she is and one of my worst fears would be going senile.

@cheche28 Since I do not know her I cannot say. I can tell you that when i started my small business and since I cannot always sell what I make I had to buy other things and some of the things make me feel like a kid. I really did not have a good childhood so I am having one now.

It happens sometimes with some old age people. In this age they seek child like care.

Well this is what happens after 70+

I have not experienced that. She is having her second childhood.

i can. shes tried running me over with the motorized scooters from walmart, she says it was an accident, i dont believe her.

I think she need some love and care. Just give it to her. :)