Band 6+: Fewer and fewer children are willing to look after their parents as they get older these days. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?

Recently, many children have been rejecting to take care of their elderly parents for some reasons. I believe that the disadvantages of this development can exceed the advantages, as leaving parents alone is not only inappropriate behaviour for a child, but also it may cause damage to the parent-child relationships, despite it gives children an opportunity to be more successful in a job.

First and foremost, separating their life from parents may be great assistant for children to develop independence and build self-reliance. With situations which they have to deal with on their own, they can learn or work efficiently without parents’ supremacy or distractions, specifically. As a result, they can accomplish success sooner in their professional life. As an example, take American high-school students, who start independent life at the age of 16, and succeed earlier in gaining particular position in a society.

However, as caring for parents when they get older is duty of a child, being irresponsible toward their needs is morally and ethically wrong, I think. Precisely, if children refuse to look after their parents, they are considered to fail in their mission—respecting and reciprocating everything that their parents devoted to them. Furthermore, child’s unwillingness to care for their parents can negatively affect the bond between them. Parents may be offended and feel abandoned when they witness that their lovely child is not eager to show love and compassion. As a result, close-knit relationship may convert to the dysfunctional one, leading to serious conflicts and frustrations. For instance, unlike Europeans, Asian parents like mine are more likely to be disappointed with child’s intentions if it comes to abandonment.

In conclusion, while feeling free from taking care of parents can be beneficial in terms of achieveing success in a professional life due to the absence of social distractions, I reckon that its drawbacks—irresponsibility and disrespect toward parents and broken communication in a family— are more significant.