All around the world and in most cultures, there's this unwritten popular norm that a child, when grown, ought to take up the responsibility of caring for their ageing parents, despite not being written anywhere, yet most children are aware of this from their childhood and tend to not question the needs for such. However, the advent of evolution in our fast-paced world brings about questions about this notion, and here I'm sharing my take on the subject matter.
From this part of the world, this expectation is very common and holds a huge grip on youth and young adults, I can assure you that if you walk to the street and ask twenty youths ' what is the drive behind their resilience and work ethic to amaze wealth', at least fifteen of them will tell you ' so I can give my parents the best life they deserve', and that's mostly going to be their third motivation after mentioning to be wealthy and escape poverty and to have enough to fend for their own family, so their children wouldn't undergo all the struggles they undergo while growing up.
I believe this notion is rooted in our traditions and has become the norm for every child to follow, and the main thing that triggers this is the ideology to repay our parents for all of their love, care, support, and sacrifices rendered to us right from our childhood days till we were able to grow up, do things ourselves, chase our dreams, and amount to something in life. With that mindset, we've come to see the need to care for our ageing parents as a moral obligation that we must fulfil.
Over the years, we've seen many children go to different lengths to fend for their ageing parents despite their circumstances, yet they never let such things hold them back from being there for their parents when they're needed the most. But is that right or wrong? Before I answer this question, I'd love to explore some other aspects of this subject matter.
I'm sure despite the unwritten expectations of children taking care of their ageing parents, we've come to see some parents in their old age remain lonely with no one to help them perform basic tasks and run errands, which could make life miserable for them, and when most people see such parents, we're mostly straight forward with our judgement, like they're bad parents to their children back then, which is why their children neglected them.
While that might be true, it's not true in every situation. We've come to see parents who give in their all, time, finances, and support for the betterment of the lives of their children, and yet when such a child grows up, they still neglect their parents as though they mean nothing to them or play no important role in making them who they're today. Well, without beating around the bush, let me dive into the important questions laid out in this prompt.
To start with, I'd say it's not a big deal for a child to be saddled with the responsibility of taking care of his ageing parents, given the fact that such a parent had to give it all it takes to invest in the upbringing of the child, making sure such is instilled with moral values, cared for, loved, and financially invested in to get the best education or craft skills that have become a valuable asset in what such a child is today.
It's worth noting that although a child doesn't beg to be born before parents bring them into the world, so parents should perform their duties, yet, not all parents perform their parental duties diligently and sacrifice their time and all on raising the child. The least such a child can do in return is to give back to his parents by caring for them in their old days.
If parents had prioritized career growth and wealth acquisition over the well-being and training of their children, then such a child would most likely have had a different path in life that's more unpleasant than what they've now, but still, I know that can go the other way around too.
On the second question of whether such responsibilities are fair to the children or not, I'd say this is a two-sided coin; in one aspect, I'd say it's fair, and in the other, I'd say it's not. Why? Well, the first reason why I'd say it's fair is that their parents also go through thick and thin to fend for us when we couldn't do several things on our own, and as we all know, the older you grow, the less strong and effective your body becomes, so it's harder to perform tasks you'd have performed without breaking a sweat years ago.
And since the responsibilities are mostly based on running errands, then I don't see it as a big deal, although it's understandable that some parents grow to the point where they've got health issues or an inability to move around to eat or defecate, and that's the part where my stand on the unfairness comes in. Although it doesn't mean it's unfair, I mean those parents also feed and clean up our mess while we're younger, but then I know how frustrating it can be to have to deal with such an adult.
So here's the reason why I said it's somewhat unfair for these children: This would have been easier for these children had they lived in first-world countries where governments built shelters that housed our elderly and ageing parents in society, popularly called old people's homes or retirement homes, and such would have eased the workload and responsibilities such a child had to render towards their parents in those periods because care workers were employed to cater for them and we could always visit them.
To the next question of whether parents deserve to be cared for or not when they're ageing, I say yes, they do. We all know it's very hard for them to do things that they easily did when they were much younger, and their inability to get help would dent their chances of a good life in old age, make them struggle further, and make them have a miserable life. But having someone around to fend for them makes old age more accommodating and comfortable for them than it would be without any support system.
And now to the last and personally asked question: What are my preparations for my old age? I'd start by saying that life doesn't have a guarantee, so nothing is certain if I'll grow to that stage or not, but peradventure I did. I've been putting effort into making sure I don't have a miserable life as an adult. First, I'm planning on getting married and having children soon, so my kids can be old enough to replicate my care for them in my old age.
Also, I'm working tirelessly to amaze wealth so I can have all necessity that won't make me still be working tirelessly in my old age, so accumulating wealth and having an investment that continuously brings me income is another way forward, so I'd be able to afford all I need to be well taken care of when I'm ageing and last on the list is my plan to start monitoring my nutrition and physique.
Eating healthy and nutritious food gives our body the right things we need to strengthen us for a long time and also helps our body combat illness. Also, constant exercise strengthens our body and bones and does not leave room for old age illnesses such as joint pains and the like, so exercising is another habit I'm planning to delve into so my ageing period won't be plagued with illness that makes me a burden to my children and loved ones.
That's all for today on the subject matter. I hope you enjoyed the read and learned something. You can leave your opinion in the comments section. Have a blessed and productive week.
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