China - and thoughts on death.

I was interested to read an article on China Daily, about this topic.  Australians, Chinese and many other cultures around the world find it difficult to discuss death, and the issues that are raised.  I know if I tell anyone I like reading/writing obituaries, people shy away from me as if I have an unnatural interest in death, or that I am scary to be talking with. 

Sooner or later we will all die - and research, as is noted elsewhere in this blog, indicates that those are prepared for it, and understand it as something that is inevitable, manage much better with the whole process.

The China Daily article has a number of stories - quite interesting.  Click here to read the articles.

We certainly need to be able to discuss our wishes and feel comfortable with this topic - even with our loved ones.

The elders in China.

I read this on the website for China Daily.

"Elderly entering old age without support of kids

GUANGZHOU - A recent study of the elderly in parts of Guangdong province, in southern China, has shown that the tradition of children supporting their aged parents is slowly fading away.

The survey of nearly 1,300 people aged 60 or above, living in urban areas, found that, more and more, the elderly are living by themselves and are instead providing financial support to their adult children."

You can read the full article here. China Daily Report 

In old China where there were big families, often the oldest daughter looked after the parents, and her siblings helped support them.  But now with only small families, themselves struggling in a very competitive world, the parents are left to fend for themselves, or as I saw when in China, the grandparents have become full time carers for their children.

Having parents and grandparents in charge of their discipline has interesting consequences, and often the grandparents are blamed if the child becomes spoiled and demanding.

Like Australia, the large number of elderly people are causing the government concern.