Page 7 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of

Population Studies

PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Uncovering connections between ageism and

child-centric care

Lynn Yu Ling Ng*
Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada

Abstract
Drawing on personal reflections of my research experience on eldercare in East Asia,
I suggest some directions for future research on demographic patterns and social
welfare that complicate the concepts of care work and filial piety in understanding
the population. Since the global pandemic has made its mark, existential anxieties
grounded in the coupling of declining fertility rates and rising elderly dependence
(lengthening lifespans amidst advances in medical technology) are running high. In
this broader social problematic, I advocate for colleagues especially in East Asia to
unpack the social dynamics of age relations and the specific predicaments of eldercare
amidst an increasing overreliance on foreign domestic workers for live-in eldercare.
*Corresponding author: The literature on changing trends of eldercare policy and practice is highly contextual
Lynn Yu Ling Ng and dynamic, and thus does not have a one-size-fits-all model. Nonetheless, broader
(lynnngyl@yorku.ca)
commonalities in the commodification of family care, including its rising privatization
Citation: Ng, L.Y.L. (2025). and outsourcing to paid market options, leaves much to be uncovered across diverse
Uncovering connections between
ageism and child-centric care. cultural contexts and geographical locations. Crucially, ageism in market society is
International Journal of Population openly recognized in Western cultural contexts but less so, if at all, among East Asian
Studies, 11(4): 1-6. populations where Confucian virtues of filial piety in (stay-at-home/live-in) care take
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4971
precedence. In this paper, I weave together fieldwork observations and secondary
Received: September 27, 2024 literature to suggest that there is much analytical merit in pushing the boundaries of
1st revised: November 30, 2024 social reproduction concepts that make room for later-life issues.
2nd revised: January 7, 2025
Keywords: Age relations; Childcare; Eldercare; East Asia; Filial piety; Foreign domestic
3rd revised: January 16, 2025
workers
4th revised: February 11, 2025
Accepted: March 5, 2025
Published online: March 19, 2025 1. Background
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article This perspective article speaks to population studies scholars interested in the
distributed under the terms of the intersections of eldercare planning (in social welfare) and immigration policy in East
Creative Commons Attribution Asia and internationally. Researchers increasingly approach issues of eldercare, such
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, as its poorly managed service quality and general lack of adequate physical care and
provided the original work is emotional attention, from interdisciplinary perspectives that consider both large-scale
properly cited. survey data and personal stories to showcase some finer details or nuances in larger
Publisher’s Note: AccScience trends (Chiu & Yen, 2024; Munkejord et al., 2021; Ng, 2023). In addition, with regard
Publishing remains neutral with to rapidly aging population woes, critical social gerontology frameworks that debate the
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional subjective constructions of aging, old age, and dependency are gaining traction (e.g.,
affiliations. Chew, 2022; Tadai et al., 2023; Xue et al., 2022). With the global pandemic’s onset, issues

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4971