Vietnamese prefer nursing homes when old

With improved living conditions brought about by Vietnam's steady economic growth, more and more residents are slowly discarding parts of their traditional family values.

One of those is for children to let their elderly parents live with them to preserve family cohesiveness.

The Vietnamese often follow the dictum "when drinking water, think about the source", or "when eating the fruit, think about the grower".

This in essence stipulates that it is the responsibility of children to take care of their parents.

Older parents used to live with the family of either a son or daughter.

But now there are more senior citizens who prefer to live in nursing homes or care centers for the aged.

Some of these senior citizens have complained that they are not treated well by children. Usually both husband and wife work so that the parents are left at home to fend for themselves.

More Vietnamese couples, especially if both are working, also prefer to have their parents live in nursing homes.

The move has raised some mixed reactions from the general public. Supporters argue that, seen from a positive perspective, when living in the nursing home, the senior citizens often enjoy a better medical care at a nursing home than staying with children.

Joyful life

Usually, the aging parents are left alone in homes with nobody attending to their needs, which can be dangerous, especially when the parents are sick.

Le Dinh Lam, a 87-year-old resident in Hanoi, said he has five children, including two sons. His wife and eldest daughter died long ago, while the other four children are now in their 60s and 50s, and all have retired.

"I tried to live with each of my children's family for a period of time, but they are not well enough off to take care of me. My grandchildren are also busy with their work. I felt so lonely at home and decided to live in this center," Lam said.

Lam said he is enjoying his stay at Phu Dong Seniors' Care Center, which is not far from his house in downtown Hanoi. The environment is quiet and clean, the nurses are friendly and they take good care of him and other old people.

"I have many buddies here. We kill the time by playing chess, reading books, watching television and other activities. My children come to visit me every weekend or during holidays," Lam said.

High fees

However, not so many elderly could afford living in the nursing homes, like Lam, because the fees are high, costing the average senior $300 to $400 per month, depending on their health.

This is more than the average monthly pension of around $140 that a retired state employee would receive.

Nguyen Tuan Ngoc, Director of the Thien Duc Aged Care Center in Hanoi, said it still would be best for old people to live with their children at home but only if the children have enough time and skills to take care of their aging parents.

At the end of 2011, Vietnam had 7.6 million 60-plus seniors, accounting for 8.7 percent of the population. By 2020, the figure is estimated to rise to 11.2 million and account for 11.6 percent of the population, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

(China Daily 10/24/2014 page11)