Unusual Industry Booms in China: 'Outsourced Children'

In China's graying society, an odd new job is emerging: stand-in son or daughter. The Washington Post reports that startups are renting out young adults to visit elderly clients whose real children often live and work far away—a legacy of the one-child policy and a rapidly aging population. For a fee—ads range from about $30 to $90 per three-hour session—these "outsourced children" chat, help with phones, tag along to doctor visits, and try to ease what one worker describes as older people's loneliness and fear of death. The South China Morning Post notes that the trend went viral last year, thanks to burly young men dressed in black visiting nursing homes.

For the Post, reporters Huiyee Chiew and Lyric Li detail how companies like Happy Home and Time Bank are trying to professionalize the business with screening, training, and even body cameras, as China faces a looming shortfall in elder-care workers and moves toward "super-aged" status by 2031. Supporters say paid companions fill a real gap for the "sandwich generation" juggling kids and parents, while critics warn of risks to seniors' safety, finances, and the commercialization of filial duty. Authorities so far seem cautiously supportive.