Caixin: The Midlife Collapse Sample – The Dilemma of Caring for Parents as the Only Child Generation A journalist interviewed three only children, showcasing classic examples: 1️⃣ 38 years old, low income, unmarried, no kids. Her mom suffered a stroke and is bedridden. She quit her job to care for her full-time, but after less than three years, she’s on the verge of a breakdown. When she gets up in the middle of the night to change her mom’s diaper after an accident, she can’t help but wish it’s the last time she’s woken up. Netizens suggested sending her mom to a nursing home, but the jobs she can find don’t pay enough to afford a quality care facility. 2️⃣ 52 years old. Her dad is on a feeding tube at home, but thankfully his pension just covers the 10,000 RMB monthly caregiver fee. Her mom has Alzheimer’s. Initially, she tried saving money by caring for her mom herself, but after her mom fell, she decided to send her to a care facility, which added another 8,000 RMB per month. She ended up selling her parents’ house, cashing in 2.7 million RMB. Six years later, after spending 1.5 million RMB, both parents passed away. 3️⃣ 40 years old, a high-earning finance professional making over a million RMB annually. Her mom had a sudden stroke, leaving her partially paralyzed. She could afford to hire caregivers, but her work was inevitably affected, so she switched to part-time. Over eight years, she spent more than 1 million RMB on caregivers. She considers herself lucky to have found excellent caregivers, but she’s fully aware that this relationship is entirely dependent on her ability to pay generously. If her financial situation were even slightly worse, it wouldn’t have been sustainable. "According to data from the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the number of elderly people in China with disabilities or dementia has exceeded 45 million, meaning that on average, one in six elderly individuals requires long-term care. Among them, the number of moderately to severely disabled or semi-disabled elderly people has reached approximately 31 million.