Do you feel that it is your responsibility to take care of your parents in sickness/old age?

[jvLin]

I''m Taiwanese/Chinese, so yes. It''s almost instinctive to be filially pious in my culture.

 

[cindygenit]

Yes. Of course. I owe my parents the world.

 

[Porridge]

Of course. I have wonderful parents who have given me everything, and I am an only child.

 

[charbie]

Date: 9/16/2009 4:48:29 PM
Author: kenny
I hear it is usually the daughters who step up, not the sons.

this is very true. i am the admissions director at a nursing home, i can''t tell you how many times i''m told by the son that it is even the daughter-in-law who needs to be contacted or who signs the paperwork. very rarely does a son sign paperwork. not to say that it doesn''t happen, it just isn''t the norm, but i praise any family member willing to get up to the task.

unfortunately, the costs of healthcare in america have skyrocketed- it costs $6000 for room and board a month at an average facility. home health is barely even an option if a person requires daily care. you simply cannot rely on medicare, private funds, or insurance to get you through- trust me on this.

please do your homework/planning with your parents or family today. get a living will. i''m 25 and have a living will, and will be doing another one with my FI after the honeymoon next month. its not easy to talk about, but you really need to start planning for anything to come- so many people wait until it is too late. i see so many lonely people at the nursing home, and it breaks my heart. home care simply is not an option for many people- often people are discharged from our nursing center requiring 24 hr supervision.