Number of 'empty nest families' increasing in city

SHANGHAI - As the parents of the first children raised under the one-child policy enter retirement age, nearly 40 percent of this eastern municipality's residents aged between 60 and 69 live in "empty nest families", according to a recent study.

"There are quite a few old people living alone, in an empty nest. Their children have either gone abroad or are busy at work and have little time to visit their parents and take care of them," said a woman surnamed Zhao who is a local community worker.

"The government should do more to support these people since the number of elderly people is increasing every year," she added.