Babies gain a degree of self sufficiency within a few years, at least to extent of wiping their own asses. But elderly dementia patients can hold on for decades gradually requiring more and more hands-on care. When my time comes I don't expect my children to ruin their lives just to care for me.
You're sweeping a lot of people in your use of the term "aging parents," ranging from physically strong yet mentally deranged dementia patients, to little old ladies who simply don't have anyone to talk to. What is obviously true for the second is obviously false for the first.
>You think it's hard taking care of your aging parents? They took care of you when you were a helpless, shitting, crying, little ball of flesh.
try lifting a baby vs an adult. also, seniors in retirement communities tend to have some sort of chronic condition that make them non-trivial to care for without medical expertise.
> They took care of you when you were a helpless, shitting, crying, little ball of flesh.
This guilt tripping is so wide spread. What else they could do? Leave the baby outside after giving birth? Kids are brought to this world by parents in the first place. A baby is not asking please let me born to you.
Just stop breeding and spare the kids from the trauma that life actually is (and going through the same thing when they also get old), plus this will remove the trouble that taking care of the baby needs, saves money.
There might be many reasons to give birth, but none of it is for the benefit of the potential child.
A baby can’t turn the stove on and burn down the house or attempt to drive a car and kill someone. Some forms of mental decline require specialized care facilities for the safety of both the elderly and their family members.
> They took care of you when you were a helpless, shitting, crying, little ball of flesh.
And most people will be paying that forward. That's not an argument for paying it back. Maybe if you said the parents took care of their kids while also taking care of their parents who had progressing dementia there would be an argument.
I need to write up some kind of living will or something where, sure expend whatever is (reasonable) to return me to normal health... until I forget why I need to ask for help (that I need) or even myself; and that isn't just a rare occurrence but an always or even mostly always state of my mind having fallen apart before my body.
If my mind does fall apart before my body: I want any treatment known or suspected to fix that. Then to be admitted to any study hoping to establish such treatment. Then failing any hope of return to health... I'm already dead as far as our medical tech allows; make it painless, useful to those who might benefit from viable parts, useful to the progress of science (generally) and medicine, quick, and resource efficient; in that order of decreasing importance.
