A booming trend in China called “adult children for hire” got Kaya Breakfast asking Joburg listeners the same question closer to home.
Katlego Sekhu
There’s a quietly booming industry in China called “adult children for hire.” As millions of young people leave home in search of work, many elderly parents are left without anyone nearby for the small, everyday things: a conversation, help with a phone or laptop, a lift to an appointment, or simply someone to sit with them. Young adults are now being paid to fill that gap.
On Kaya Breakfast, the trend became a mirror. The team put it to the audience directly: if you left home to “dig for gold” in the big city, who is actually looking after your parents back home? Is there a cousin, a nephew, a niece, a neighbour checking in?
The answers came in fast, and they were as varied as they were honest.
For some, family simply stepped in, no formal conversation required. DJ Fresh who left home twenty years old, three decades ago, admitted there was never a sit-down chat about a plan. A childhood best friend just took it upon himself to handle things whenever they came up, from rates queries to general household issues.
Mbali Thethane described watching a parent grow visibly frailer and moving quickly to act, arranging for a relative or helper to check in regularly rather than considering a move into care.
That preference for staying put came with its own tension. Several in the conversation described parents who welcome a helper for cleaning or laundry but flatly refuse to have anyone living in the house full time. Independence, it turns out, is non-negotiable for a lot of South African parents, even as their children worry from a distance.
The Kaya audience weighed in with voice notes. To hear the full discussion, listen to the podcast.
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