Post-80s feel incompetent to care for parents
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A whopping 99 percent of China's post-1980's generation feels they are incompetent when it comes to taking care of their parents, according to a survey conducted by China Business Times.
Among the respondents, 74.1 percent say the strong pressure from life and work is the main reason; 68.4 percent have responsibility for several old relatives; 50.1 percent live in different cities away from their parents.
More than half of the respondents say they still receive money from their parents.
The unsound social security system also contributed to the heavy burden for the young to support the old.
By 2040, China's aging population will have reached 397 million, more than the current aggregated population of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain, says John Hamre, president and CEO of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
If 10 percent of a society's population is above the age of 65 then it is defined as an aging society, according the international standard.
The most needed resources for the old are the day-to-day domestic help, round-the-clock care when they are ill and care for their mental and emotional needs, said Yao Yuan, professor of the Center for Population and Development Studies of Renmin University of China.
The survey also showed that only 6.9 percent of those surveyed are willing to send their parents to nursing homes. Professor Yao believes two main factors are responsible: people are unsatisfied with the services and prices of the nursing homes, and old people tend to feel deserted after leaving their familiar surroundings.
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