May be. Whom they trust in their old age?. If they are not believing their children how they trust others. It is not possible in their old age every time go and draw the money whenever they need.  I think most of the old age parents not want money they want real love so they are not giving that much importance to money. 

That's where the wisdom lies. When we are healthy we never take care of or health. We never have forethought. If from the beginning, one takes care of everything including health, one need not be dependent on others in later life. Now coming to the point, there are several methods that enable you to get the money directly to your home. All these things should be learned from the very beginning. There are people who never take care of thinking about their retired life. With good health and forethought old people need not depend on their children until the end of their lives.

@Rambabu

Safeguards against old age could be as good as safeguards are themselves! Truth lies in the fact that there are fewer safeguards available in a trust-deficit society. I won't try to sound overtly alarmist or cynical in the absence of statistical data as to the true magnitude of the problem of criminal neglect of our old and elderly but my experience tells me that our earthy rural folks hold a better andmore respectable record over their well-heeled urban counterparts in discharge of parental duties

@Chinmoy, it is true, at least until now, that the rural elderly are better taken care of and respected than their urban counterparts. However, unfortunately, the tide is turning for them too. I am not very sure about rest of country, but in Maharashtra, rural folks are also falling prey to greed and dishonesty and other such malaise. Rural youth is now migrating to cities in search of better life and livelihood and neglecting their farms and parents alike. Wherever possible, they are selling away their lands at large sums to mncs and becoming rich overnight. But does the money do good for them? certainly not, for that money goes as quickly as it comes and the elderly are left stricken in poverty and pitiful conditions. Even if the money remains wisely invested, the elderly are rarely given their share of it. Recently, a few of the elderly even dared to bring their children to court seeking for alimony for their maintenance.

@Kalyani

What you say could be only explained in accepting the fact that no such water-tight compartmentalization exists as urban and rural realities so the rot that has been spreading in urban India might not be sparing the rural areas also.All these disturbingly and ominously point to erosion of all values in our society today. Unlike in the West where a more humane and generous social security dispensation takes care of the aged ,we mainly depend on our traditional family value system which is falling apart and in advanced decadent state.

@Kalyani

What you say could be only explained in accepting the fact that no such water-tight compartmentalization exists as urban and rural realities so the rot that has been spreading in urban India might not be sparing the rural areas also.All these disturbingly and ominously point to erosion of all values in our society today. Unlike in the West where a more humane and generous social security dispensation takes care of the aged ,we mainly depend on our traditional family value system which is falling apart and in advanced decadent state.

In a nutshell, yes!!! As a society, we are not really practical and logically minded and so we find it very difficult to accept changes. especially those revolving around the family system. There is a major degree of hypocrisy around our actions. Because while we have so easily and readily accepted nuclear family concept, where it comes to caring for the elder, we are being selfish. In the West, the old are admitted into assisted-care living facilities where they get good treatment and medicines and everything that they might need and we look down upon them, saying that it is the duty of children to take care of their parents. But here, we may keep them in homes but to what end. Only so that they may keep an eye on the children or home. Love and respect rarely remain the purpose behind it.

chinmoymukherjee wrote:

While it is true that fathers and daughters do share a unique bond as do moms and sons but that should not encourage us into irrationally accept sweeping generalizations in interpreting a sociological phenomenon of advent of old age homes as arising purely out of dereliction of duties on the part of sons. I know quite a few cases where the same daughter who is so passionately loving and caring of her parents even possesively at times , is cruelly careless and insensitive to her dad and mom-in-law. There are instances galore where they torment and torture their hubbies into putting their parents away to these homes , what do we say about that?

I agree , in some households daughters or rather the daughter in laws have dfferen set of rules when it comes to their parents, they expect their brothers to care for them and look after them while ill treating their own in laws...

Yes daughters are apple of dad's eye as mine is. I love my daughter more than anyone. I wish I may be able to fulfill all her wishes in my life.

Several studies undertaken revealed the fact that there is a strong relation between father and daughter. The fact is daughters are more attached with their parents even after their marriage.