Five Questions - Childless Seniors Reflect

          There were a couple of reasons why I never had children. The main reason was that I wasn’t able to conceive easily and couldn’t stay pregnant longer than a few days. In hindsight, not being able to have kids during my child-bearing years didn't overly upset me. While I wanted to have children and went so far as to have a couple of medical procedures to help the process along, there are many couples who consciously chose a life without children.

The Impact of Childlessness on an Aging Population
 
          As I've gotten older, the fact that I am childless has moved laterally into another separate issue – the issue of who’s going to take care of me as I age. Sounds selfish? I don’t think so. I think it’s just good planning to consider possible options. And don’t you know the government will be impacted if more programs are needed to care for elders such as myself, with no or fewer immediate or extended family members in the picture. And, before you set me straight, I am well aware that having children in NO way guarantees an old age filled with doting young people.

          As reported in the YaleGlobal Online, “In the US, based on the experiences of several states, childless older adults were likely to have higher medical costs and more complex health-care needs than older couples with children." All we have to do is look around to feel the anticipated substantial cutbacks and rejection of proposed entitlements that might provide funding and human resources to care for older adults who don’t have children to help them as they age.

Five Questions I Asked