Be Nice To Your Children, They'll Choose Your Nursing Home

I remember driving one time years ago and saw a bumper sticker that said "Be Nice To Your Children They'll Choose Your Nursing Home". I thought of it as funny, however, there is an amount of truth to this "joke". More and more elderly adults are looking to their children to help finance their long term care. Its expensive to get old and more often than not there is not enough money to insure that a person is cared for when they are no longer able to care for themselves. Additionally, there are many elderly Americans sitting in nursing homes without any real contact with their children or other family matters. If a person has good relationships with their children, it is more likely that their children will be there for them in old age. A recent study shows a correlation between divorce and a child of a divorced parents likelihood of caring for their parents in old age. Its an interesting study and one that I think all people considering divorce should be aware of. Sometimes the aftermath of divorce is felt years into the future, and its important, even when you are divorcing and have adult children, that you recognize the impact that divorce will have on your children.

If you would like to read about the study that this blog is based upon, see: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070917-18333100-bc-us-divorcecaregiving.xml