Chinese nursing home’s ‘frequent visitor rewards’ shame children into seeing parents
A nursing home in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has reported an “explosive” increase in visitors since it started offering rewards to children coming to see their parents.
The rewards increase with the frequency of visits, and nurses have been keeping logs of visitors for each resident since September, the Yangtze Evening News reports.
Children who visit at least 30 times in two months receive 200 yuan to spend on goods or services at the home, while those going at least 20 times get 100 yuan. Children had to visit at least 10 times to earn 50 yuan in credit.
The nursing home had more than 500 residents and more than 90 per cent did not receive regular visits from their relatives before the scheme came into effect.
Most children visited their parents less than twice a month, and some only once a year, the report said.
Now more than half of the residents are visited often enough to qualify for the rewards.
The residents were more than 80 years old on average and their health had improved since the scheme was introduced, staff said.
The family members said they started visiting more often not because of the money but because they felt ashamed of not taking care of their parents in the past.
Managers at the home said the country’s population was ageing and they were worried that more elderly people would be abandoned in homes by their children.
