Few Chinese willing to send parents to old-age homes

BEIJING - A majority of young couples in China are beginning to face difficulties in tending to their aged parents but only a negligible few would send them to an old age home.

A survey conducted by the Social Investigation Centre spoke to 1,612 people, 74 percent of whom feel incompetent to take care of their parents, while over 50 percent said they live in cities different from those of their parents, China Daily reported.

Among the respondents, 57 percent were born in the 1980s while 28 percent were born in the 1970s, which shows that people in their late 20s who have recently started families are the ones who are at a dilemma.

Domestic help and round-the-clock care are the most wanted resources for the old, said Yao Yuan, professor at the Centre for Population and Development Studies in Renmin University.

The survey, however, says that only seven percent of the people are willing to send their parents to old age homes.

Yao says that people are often dissatisfied with the services and prices of the old age homes and do not want to let old people feel deserted after leaving their familiar surroundings.