According to social literature and scientific exploration, parents are the sole motive and point of attraction of a child, family, and house. The father and mother's emotions are the children's early needs. With time, the sphere of the parent's concern increases. They look after the needs of the children including the food, clothes, shelter, health, education, and other aspects of the social life. Therefore, Parents mostly spend their best resources for their children's decent growth and quality development. Likewise, they are also expecting their children during the aging state of life.
The old man of a traditional society still believes that the last hope of his old age is ultimately his children. Where they will deliver him or her all the desired needs, which is now unable to get. In the pre-industrial era, elegant and civilized societies confine their children to look after old parents, hence, the parents become dependent on their children in their old age without the hint and feelings of humiliation.
Later on, after the emergence of
the concept of the welfare state, where it was the first and foremost entity to
work for the betterment of all living populations. In addition, the state also
introduced pension schemes, especially for adult people after retirement,
whose aim is to help out its aged members during the needed time rather than to
become too dependent on others. The following method is still run-through in
the entire world but the advent of adversities in different fields of life has
sharpened the possible outcomes of the concerned pension system. For instance, demographic developments, high unemployment rates, expensive healthcare
systems, and cultural restrictions have put massive pressure on children in
terms of caring for their aged parents. Resultantly, the assets of inheritance
cannot bring stability and prosperity to the lives of the remaining
people.
The other contributing factor
also increases human life’s length, while pushing the consumption rates of all
resources for a long period as well as the boosting of scientific pitching. It
basically narrates the discovery of modern tools in the medical field.
According to the author of Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Hariri says “the current
generation should pay gratitude to the unearthing of modern tools and material
for saving their beloved ones. It enhanced the life duration and expectancy due
to the blessing of a single pain killer tablet”.
Furthermore, the availability of
proper and equitable facilities of healthcare in developing countries is in
deplorable condition. For the case in point, the reports of the Economy Survey of
Pakistan revealed that 80% of the population has less than 35,000 income. 54% is spent on food purchasing, 3% goes for education and only 3.5% is used
for health-related issues. So, it is usually observed that the children of
an aged man are always under the siege of mental frustration for the
arrangement of standing healthcare and other routine services. It is also
important to note that the world's major strength of population is living in
developing countries. The 3rd world countries of Africa are the exemplary model
for the diversion of the general public budget.
According to the Adult Social
Care Activity Report, the care of people over 65-70 is a twofold amount
of the rest of the population. Such an alarming situation pressurized the adult
children to take intense measures to provide quality support to their old
parents in the form of informal care. This type of care includes any care or
help provided to older people either by the family or someone else.
The shuffle from downward to
upward intergenerational support and providing support also the children is typically called the sandwich generation. The term sandwich, basically,
refers to those individuals who become sandwiched between the needs and
requirements of their old-aged parents and their own in-need children and who
are responsible for taking care of both generations.
In families with a greater number
of children, parents certainly have less potential to provide financial support
to the old parents. Due to these rooming hurdles, it strikes the problems of
financial support, emotional, psychological, and cultural restrictions for the
old people to live a better and quality life.
This article was written by Syed Mansoor Ahmed, one of the contributors to the School of Literature.
