Today, it costs families more to care for their aging parents than to raise their child for the first seventeen years. The average, out-of-pocket costs for raising a child from birth to age seventeen is about $234,000 compared to the costs for providing an elder long-term care for four years of $140,000. Elderly individuals incur several costs that put heavy strains on their budget, such as health care, whereas children are afforded several benefits throughout the early stages of life. To help ease the burden on caring for elderly family members, it is essential that we recognize the financial costs and assume the same responsibility of caring for them, just as we do our children.
See Howard Gleckman, Families Spend More to Care for Their Aging Parents than to Raise Their Kids, Forbes, January 18, 2017.
