There is an article at the WSJ this morning on the trials of the “only child” in dealing with their parent’s old age, illnesses, medical care, and expenses. If you have no children that care will be left to strangers. There is a shortage of CNAs and health care workers in the elderly care field. Good luck to this lady when she is 80 and falls and breaks her hip. There will be no one to assist her that really cares.
My dad always kidded us children that he and mom had five kids so that my parents would have someone to take care of them in their old age. He was smart to plan it that way. There was always one of us available to assist them when needed and both he and mom passed away at home (years apart) with their children by their side.
Three children. But I’m still buying a robot!
Sometimes, even if you have children, ‘that care’ will be left to strangers.
Our family took care of the elderly and dying people at home. I don’t expect everyone to do that - we were in unique circumstances. But it saddens me that so many families today who could possibly do what we did, don’t even consider it. It’s also very sad that our economy discourages it, too.
It’s more often than not the case, that no matter how many children a couple has, it’s almost always just one adult child who takes on that responsibility, re an old parent/s.
A character in one of H. Allen Smith’s novels, an old Texas cowboy, said that a man has to have three sons. One to get killed in a car wreck, one to turn out sorry, and one to take care of you when you get old.