A few days ago I was having lunch with a friend and our topic turned to kids. As always, people always ask when our Number 2 will come along. I guess it’s the natural progression from the time when we had no kids and people would ask when we’re starting a family. The questions don’t seem to end! Haha.
Anyway, my friend was sharing with me what many people are thinking in their minds but probably not saying out aloud. He was saying that we should have more kids as they are a source of “insurance” for parents. Being Asians, I think we have a mentality where we do have some kind of expectations to be “taken care” when we grow into our golden years.
But times have changed. Maybe that was very true for the generation before us and even the generation before our parents. These days it’s very different. Lots of children grow up to get their education out of the country and end up finding jobs far across the globe from home. And parents even encourage that as many believe that their children have better opportunities out there.
And once they establish themselves in their jobs and lives there, it is unlikely that they would want to return home at all. More so if they settle down and start a family.
So then where does the “insurance” come in? There’s really none…and I don’t think it’s fair to expect that kind of insurance anyway. People have got to live their own lives, the way they want to, even if they are miles from home.
So we might as well start buying some real cheap insurance instead of counting on children, huh?
