There’s an old adage: “A son is a son ‘til he takes him a wife. A daughter is a daughter all of her life.” A national survey recently concluded that mothers are more likely to rely on their daughters as they age.
The poll found that 70% of mothers with both at least one son and at least one daughter would choose to move in with a daughter over a son if they could not take care of themselves.
Some 68% of mothers believe that, as they age, daughters will take better care of them than sons will. And 65% of mothers say their daughters, rather than sons, would most likely want them to move in.
The survey polled 335 Americans over age 55. It was commissioned by Senior Helpers, an in-home provider of senior care and the creators of the Stay At Home Score Quiz (stayathomescore.com), an eight-question test that determines if the elderly can live independently in their own home. Adult children take the exam to help them determine their parents’ independence and self-sufficiency. Other results included:
- Nearly 80% of parents say their own children (both sons and daughters) will take care of them as well as they, themselves have taken care of their parents.
- Almost 70% of mothers and fathers say their children (both sons and daughters) would pay out of their own pockets to care for them as they age.
- About 95% of mothers and fathers say they would rather live in their own home as they age instead of moving in with any of their children or to a nursing home or assisted-living facility.
“The survey clearly shows that most aging parents have faith in their children to take care of them as they age, but they almost always prefer to stay in their own homes,” said Dr. John Bowling, a senior care specialist.
