In Britain, when someone gets old they often go to live in a home with other old people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government has to pay for this care. Who do you think should pay for this care, the government or the family? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

There was a time when elders were better adjusted to the joint family structure with extended kin providing

care

and support.

However

, nowadays, due to lack of

such

caring system, taking

care

of the elderly has become a challenge. To remedy the problem, a relatively new trend is prevailing where elders are moving in their age cohort in old age homes. In Britain,

this

gives rise to a debate as to who should bear the

cost

of taking

care

of the elderly, the

government

or the family. There are some people who are of the opinion that the

government

, being responsible for the welfare of its citizens should shoulder the responsibility of elderly

care

, whereas

on the other hand

, few believe that burden of elderly

care

should not be placed on the national exchequer rather families should bear

such

cost

. I am of the view that the families should bear the

cost

of

such

care

. The

first

and the foremost reason is the nature of parent child relationship. In my opinion, it is a moral and ethical obligation of children to extend

care

, support and love to their parents when they reach old age like the way their parents did when the children were young.

Moreover

, the family would better understand the elderly person and would be in a better position to provide better

care

rather than relying on an absolute stranger. Elders would be more at ease and feel comfortable among their family members who would be emotionally attached to them and provide

care

with affection.

Secondly

, since the

cost

of elderly

care

would not be borne by the state, it would save the

government

a lot of money which can be utilized for some other beneficial purpose,

specially

to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common

especially

in desperate times of economic woes when

government

Suggestion

the government

is already resorting to austerity measures.

Therefore

, considering the aforementioned facts, it would be justified to say that families should pay for the

care

of their elders.