An analysis of the causes of the dilemma of elderly care for families who lost their only child

An analysis of the causes of the dilemma of elderly care for families who have lost their only child

The elderly who have lost their only child are a special group in our society. As time goes by, millions of elderly people who have lost their only child have Entering the twilight years of life. How to prepare for the old age of those who have lost their only child? It is a problem that must be solved now. It is the government's responsibility to allow the elderly who have lost their only child to enjoy their old age in peace, and it is also a manifestation of the people-oriented concept of modern society.

The primary reason for the emergence of families that have lost their only child is the long-term and large-scale implementation of the family planning policy in our country. In 1980, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued an "Open Letter to All Communist Party Members and Communist Youth League Members on Controlling my country's Population Growth", marking the beginning of the comprehensive implementation of the family planning policy in my country. The family planning policy has resulted in more than 300 million fewer births in our country, providing favorable demographic conditions for the development of socialist modernization. But for a single family, having only one child greatly increases the family's risk in providing for the elderly. The current plight of families who have lost their only child is mainly caused by the loss of their only child, and the large-scale existence of only-child families is entirely caused by the government's family planning policy. Since the implementation of the family planning policy, the majority of party members have responded to the party's call, abided by national laws and regulations, and had only one child. For those who dare to have multiple births, the relevant departments also try their best to stop or even punish them. The slogan "Family planning is good, the government will provide for the elderly" has been widely used on the front pages of Chinese newspapers and media and on the slogans and banners on the streets and alleys. This is a commitment made by governments at all levels to the broad masses of the people. As a directly vulnerable group caused by the family planning policy, the elderly who have lost their only child are currently the group that is most in need of external help. Whether the elderly who have lost their only child can live in peace in their old age is directly related to the government's credibility among the people.

The imperfection of laws and regulations is one of the main reasons for the plight of families who have lost their only child. However, in terms of the protection of families who have lost their only child, there are serious gaps, absences and fragmentation in my country's current laws and regulations. From the perspective of national-level laws, there is a lack of specific targeted laws, and the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly who have lost their only child only exists scatteredly in other laws. For example, the Family Planning Law promulgated in 2001 stipulates that local governments provide necessary assistance to families who have lost their only child. However, there are no clear regulations and arrangements on how this "necessary help" will be provided, to what extent, how it will be implemented, and who will implement it. The "Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of the Elderly", which was revised again in 2012, completely ignored the increasingly large and rapidly growing group of elderly people who have lost their only child. In today's society where the issue of elderly care is becoming more and more prominent, such legislation is inevitably disappointing. From the perspective of departmental and local laws and regulations, departments at all levels operate independently, and subsidy standards are not uniform across regions and the amounts are extremely low. In 2007, the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued the "National Pilot Plan for Assistance System for Families with Disabled and Died Only Children", which stipulates that the government will provide a monthly subsidy of 100 yuan per person. In 2014, Beijing issued the "Notice on Increasing the Standards of Family Planning Incentives and Special Assistance Funds in the City", which raised the subsidy to 500 yuan for families who lost their only child. The "Opinions on Further Improving Support for Families with Special Difficulties in Family Planning" issued by the Jiangsu Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission stipulates that starting from 2016, the subsidy for elderly people who have lost their only child over the age of 60 in the province will be increased to 700 yuan per month. Generally speaking, local governments are paying more and more attention to the elderly care issues of elderly people who have lost their only child, and assistance standards are also improving year by year. However, the gap between urban and rural areas in different regions is still very large. Compared with the rapidly rising prices, meager subsidies are still a drop in the bucket. It is worth noting that the current support policies introduced in various places only focus on financial subsidies, and there is still a lack of comprehensive legal design for the protection of the rights of the elderly who have lost their only child. The lack of legislation not only puts the government in an embarrassing situation with no way to rely on, but also is not conducive to promoting a positive trend of caring for the elderly who have lost their only child throughout society.

The influence of traditional concepts and secular perspectives is also one of the reasons for the difficulties in providing care for families who have lost their only child.

The home care model has thousands of years of tradition in China. In the traditional culture of the Chinese people, the "nurturing-support" model is a matter of course. "Five generations live under one roof" and "children and grandchildren surround one's knees" are the most common beliefs of the vast majority of Chinese people. pursuit of life. Compared with other countries in the world, the elderly in China have a stronger sense of family and hope to be cared for and accompanied by their children in their twilight years. Therefore, the elderly in China are often reluctant to go to elderly care institutions for retirement. For the elderly who have lost their only child, as traditional Chinese people, they are often unwilling to go to a nursing home for their care. However, without their only child to rely on, the traditional home care model is unsustainable, which has led to the loss of their only child. Elderly care dilemma. Even the elderly who have lost their only child and enter ordinary nursing homes for old age find it difficult to adapt to life in nursing homes. Compared with other elderly people, they appear to be more sensitive and unsociable. According to interviews and surveys, elderly people who have lost their only child in nursing homes prefer to get along with elderly people in the same situation. They say that the saddest thing is seeing other people's children visiting their parents. Because they can't stand this kind of touching situation, there are also many elderly people who have lost their only child and left the nursing home to return home for retirement. In addition to the influence of traditional concepts, the harm of secular perspectives to the elderly who lost their only child cannot be avoided. In secular society, the most vicious curse for others is to "cut off children and grandchildren", and the elderly who have lost their only child are often affected by the concept of "karma" and fall into deep pain and cannot extricate themselves, and fall into deep self-blame for cutting off "incense". What's more, some people believe that it was their "evil deeds" and karma that led to the death of their children, causing them to fall into long-term psychological torture. However, the secular society lacks care and sympathy for this special group. Many people sneer at it with a spectator mentality, or avoid it because they think it is unlucky. This has further aggravated the psychological burden of the elderly who have lost their only child. Many elderly people who have lost their only child find it difficult to talk about their experiences and are unwilling to let others know about their experience of losing their only child. They are very resistant to topics involving their children, and have even reached the point of self-isolation. The psychological state of the elderly who lost their only child is not optimistic. ;