jasmine Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Just finished reading an article in SakulThai of the 15th October. Just want to share some information. It is an article of a life of an old school teacher who set up grants for children in Chonburi area. What interesting for me was that she and her husband (also a teacher) raised 5 children in poverty because their salaries were low ? they are in their 70s and they started teaching with their salaries 200 Baht per month 50 years ago. Their children are doctors and teachers which I would say, quite wonderful. Each of their children gives them monthly income even though they have their own retirement income. This is typical for all people I have known, whether the parents need the money or not. What interesting is that the lady said that her children are their bank accounts, they (she and her husband, the father of the children) had deposited into these accounts and now are the returns of investment are available. And the children are happy to give them withdrawals to show the gratitude. This is not the same concept as the ?ATM? that seems to be prevalent amongst Western men associating with Thai women. There is no demand from these parents, including my mother. We, I and my brother are doing it out of gratitude of her raising us, sending us to colleges and gave us the best possible. Some of my friends are ?paying back? by buying services (one parent is a widow of 85 living by herself so the children are paying for the live-in companion), repairing cars and houses because their parents will not accept money. I bought a car, built a new house, give my mother what she would accept which I have noticed that she has never spent except donating some to the temples. I feel good giving and I have not any problem from Hubby. He does the same thing for his mom even though she does not need it. The feelings that parents are investing in their children are not the same as ?investing? concept in the West. I also have met many Americans who do give some ?gifts? to their parents. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadaBing Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Hi Jas The company I work for are mostly Chinese , I notice alot of the employee's have parent(s) living with them or are sending some kind of support to them. Some mention that it is an asian culture thing , parent take care of them as youngsters , youngster pay back to parent as gratitude. I would estimate most percentages of USA kids dont even think of it as they grow older , me myself , no kids , no wife , me father is very well off for $$ , he actually send us ( his kids $$ for X-mas. My wife is my job , my 3 kids are my 401K , Roth IRA and savings in bank... Life is good.... Pleanty of time to travel and no worries for the " golden age " , well maybe except for that one body function....ummmmm....never mind.... :: BadasingleandhappyBing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 your family sotuation is a nice one, Jaz, and i am sure you are not the only one, but i would not generalize, especially as concerns the last 30 intense years of consumrism and ultra-cash economy, that this is the same in every family. Just think why the woman used the word "bank account" . that tells a lot. I do not mean she is a wretched calculating mother, but all the same, it is very telling when you relate it to a whole society.... IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 there is not much social security or retirement provision system in thailand (the current profident scheme has a very slim coverage) as in comparison to western (and in particular to european) countries. therefore those folks who are not able to save some money during their working life will depend on their children once they are not able to earn their own money. so the children are for many people the retirement arrangement in thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaiLuk Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Good post jas. Not easy for farang to understand this issue and alot of thai/farang marriages suffer. A farang has a strong sense of obligation to financially take care of their children with no payoff expected. No one would accuse the farang of being used. It might be comparable to say the thai children feel the same obligation toward their parents. The idea that the thai parents are using their children is as strange as saying farang children are using their farang parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Palmer Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 [color:"blue"]... i am fortunate enough to be in a position to provide for my family & couldn't imagine anything worse than to have to rely on my child to care for me in middle or old age, when they should be out having fun, as i did when i was their age... i don't ctiticize the thai system, rather sympathize, after all it's their country... who are we to lecture them... ...i took out a pension for my kid early on, as a state pension probably won?t even pay for a zimmer frame in old age, let alone the basic necessities of retirement... it's a way of using my spare cash after coughing up for the school fees, holidays etc. so for example a one year old, paying £50 (net) per month into a uk stakeholder pension until they are 18 could create a retirement fund of £135,000 by age 50. this is assuming an investment return of 7% a year... [/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 < i don't ctiticize the thai system, rather sympathize, after all it's their country... who are we to lecture them... > quite a bit arrogant! beware not to become blacklisted with such statement! in another thread you mention thailand as a not "developed country". what do you expect? i think the social security system in thailand is still ahead of many countries in the same developed status as thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted October 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 [color:"red"]I would estimate most percentages of USA kids dont even think of it as they grow older , me myself , no kids , no wife , me father is very well off for $$ , he actually send us ( his kids $$ for X-mas. [/color] Most parents in the USA are better off than the children, IMO, including me and Hubby. However, the children of the better financial families in Thailand still do give to parents out of gratitute which is more than money like the Western families think. The truth is gentlemen, I am quite disturbed at times with the Western thinking of money, sorry. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Maybe it should be mentioned that the Social Security system in the US is dependent upon the working generations taxes being used to pay for the retired citizens benefits. I think the same applies for a few European pension systems too. I guess the real difference between the Thai system and ours is that the State mandates and controls the process. rather than the family. The young paying for the care of the old. . .not too much different than Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Good point JJ, but that system can break down here in European countries. In the US its far more healthy, because of the huge rate of immigrants you have a younger population. A huge concern in European countries is a forthcoming breakdown of generous pensions. The population is too old. In addition, many European governments contribute far more over governmental budgets to pensions and health care than what you do. Maybe we will need some Thai thinking here. Humm, I'd better produce some more kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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