what will you do when your parents gets older?

Our parents took great care of us all these years and the only way we can ever repay them is to take care of them when they need to be taken care of which is when they grow old. Since 3 out of my 4 siblings and I already have families of our own, we can do our share in taking care of our parents. Sending them to the home for the aged is not an option here. How would you feel when you grow old and grey and your children sent you off to one? Wouldn't you rather spend the best of your years in the company of the people who mean the most to you?

I think it has a lot to do with the culture you grow up in. North American kids often leave home after they graduate from high school to start their adult life. The dream of most 18 year olds is to go out of town to college or university. A lot of them don't live at home until they are married or finished university. So family ties are not as tight as they are in other cultures. Also people live a lot longer now, so a lot of people are caught in what is called the sandwich generation. Both parents are working and are approaching middle age themselves, they have kids to support at university and aging parents as well. No one is at home during the day. So if an aging parent is sick, becomes an invalid or just needs looking after, an old age home is the solution. I grant you it is sad but the reality. I am an aging parent myself but would not want to live with my kids. I would find it stressful even though we have a wonderful relationship as it is. I am planning to spend my money to buy all the services I need to stay in my own apartment as long as possible and when I can no longer manage that I would like to go to a nice Nursing Home and have a private room. That is my plan.