Supporting my elderly parents financially when the need arises is indeed my duty. It should actually be the joy and desire of every child to be able to support his or her elderly parents financially.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, duty is something that you feel you have to do because it is your moral or legal responsibility. It is morally expected of all parents to provide the basic needs of their children; to provide shelter, food, clothing, education. Many parents work long hours to be able to provide these basic needs. Some parents go through physical and emotional pain while fulfilling these moral obligations. They do so with the hope that their children will be better off than they were. Why then will it be strange to any child to take up the moral responsibility of supporting his/her elderly parents financially when the need arises; when they are not in the position to work for themselves anymore or what they have is not enough to sustain them?

In family settings where they still encourage family ties, it is seen as irresponsibility on the part of any child who does not take care of his/her aging parents. The period of support from the child to the elderly parents is viewed as a time to show gratitude to the man and woman who brought him/her into the world, who loved him/her and sacrificed for him/her to be what he/she is now, who were available to provide direction and counsel whenever he/she needed one. Any person who falls short of this expectation is regarded as a bad egg in the family and a source of negative influence to the up coming generation.

Some people may argue that their parents failed in fulfilling their obligations to them as parents and so do not deserve any financially support now that they are elderly. True, they may not deserve it but I personally believe that it is morally right to support them. This act of duty will give them a lot to reflect on as long as they live. We can overcome evil with good, hatred with love. Supporting parents who do not deserve it is good for our peace of mind.

Parents-children relationship does not cease when the children are grown. The love that built this relationship is strong enough to sustain it. This love compels the children not only to provide for their elderly parents financially but also to make their last days or years peaceful, exciting and memorable.

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Writer: Ngozi Nwoke blogs at http://stepswithgod.com where you will find helpful information on how to take steps with God and succeed in every area of your life. She tweets as @NgoziNwoke

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