Lonely in their golden years? In China, they found an unusual solution: "Rent-a-child"

In China, an unusual phenomenon is developing to deal with one of the country's major social problems: elderly people left alone while their children live and work far away. Young people are offering themselves as "shared children" or "outsourced children" — a paid service where they come to an elderly person's home, talk to them, help them use their smartphone, and sometimes even accompany them to medical checkups. The price for three hours ranges from $29 to $88, and the goal is not to replace a medical caregiver but to provide what many clients lack: company, as reported today (Sunday) in the "Washington Post".

Sun Shuyang, 28, works at the start-up company Happy Home in the city of Tianjin in northern China. According to him, many of the company's clients live alone because their adult children have moved to work in distant cities. Some of them deal with feelings of isolation and even fear of death. "Through conversation with young people like us, they can regain a sense of vitality and feel more energetic," he said.

It is not yet clear how widespread the service is across the country, but advertisements offering it appear on Chinese social networks. Unlike nursing staff, the young people are not supposed to provide professional medical care. They come to talk, spend time with the elderly person, assist with daily matters, or simply be by their side for a few hours.

Behind the phenomenon lies a huge demographic shift. According to a World Health Organization forecast, the number of people aged 60 and over in China is expected to reach 402 million by 2040, which is about 28% of the country's population. More than half of the elderly were already living in households without children in 2021, and by 2030, a shortage of about 5.5 million nursing staff for the elderly is expected.

One of the reasons for the situation also lies in the one-child policy, which was in effect for decades. Many families today include a single adult child who is required to deal simultaneously with work, raising their own children, and caring for their aging parents. The phenomenon is called the "sandwich generation" — middle-aged people who are caught between the needs of their children and their responsibility toward their parents.

Liu Cheng, who founded Time Bank in the city of Suzhou, a company that provides "shared children," said the idea was born precisely out of this distress. "We have both elderly parents and young children to support," he explained. "Many times, when we focus on caring for the younger ones, we end up failing to take care of the older ones."

But the possibility of bringing a stranger into an elderly person's home also raises concerns. Critics warn that "outsourced children" might gain access to sensitive documents, including information about assets, ID cards, and ownership documents. In addition, many of the workers do not have professional medical training and therefore might struggle to deal with a health emergency.

Companies are trying to deal with the risks through supervision. Time Bank and Happy Home claim that they screen and train the workers. Time Bank tries to match the elderly person with a companion of the same gender and even requires the companions to use body cameras during visits, with the clients' consent, so that there is documentation in case a dispute arises.

The phenomenon also touches on one of the deepest traditions in Chinese society — the duty of children to respect their parents and care for them. Therefore, the very idea that one can pay a stranger to perform a role that has been perceived for generations as a family responsibility sparks debate. On the other hand, there are families who argue that the service does not replace the relationship with the parents but allows it to be maintained when distance and work make it difficult to be by their side.

Janice Yeh, a 36-year-old teacher from Suzhou, hires Time Bank companions to visit her parents who live in Anhui province in the east of the country. According to her, a continuous relationship with elderly parents also requires financial stability, so there is not necessarily a contradiction between family love and paying another person to be with them. "If someone can accompany your elderly parents and make them happy, I don't see anything wrong with that," she said. According to her, the service "eases their inner loneliness."

Authorities are also not rushing to stop the model. This year, Chinese authorities proposed expanding mutual aid services for the elderly so that they cover 70% of the country's regions by 2030, and at the same time, technology companies are developing robots that will be able to assist the elderly with various tasks — from shopping to playing chess.

The challenge is expected to worsen in the coming years. According to the forecasts presented in the report, by 2031, China will become a "very aging society" — a definition for a country where at least a fifth of the population is 65 or older. Experts emphasize that the problem is not the fact that people are living longer, but the combination of an aging population and a relatively small number of young people who will be able to support it.

Despite the potential, companies are still struggling to convince some of the elderly to invite a stranger into their home. A 24-year-old worker who offers emotional support services on weekends said that there are sometimes more companions available on the platform than orders. The founder of Time Bank, who currently handles about 100 orders a month, hopes to increase the number to 650.

He also emphasizes that the service is not supposed to become a substitute for family. His vision is much simpler: to make the option of finding company and assistance for the elderly available and accessible. "We imagine a future where home care for the elderly will be as easy as ordering food to the house," he said.