This was a question on Dear Abby today. Of course there were mixed answers. Me, I never thought about asking for gas money but then I was working and better off than my retired parents. The answers on the DA forum were mostly yes if its a financial burden on the child. Which it could be if elderly are in their 80s and children retired on fixed incomes too. If not retired, did the children also need to take an unpaid day off of work to drive the parents to these appts?
What would you do?
Unless a person can spend indiscriminately with unlimited funds, while never having to look at a bank statement or check an account balance, they are on a fixed income.
These days the elderly are one of the few elite groups in society who actually have disposable income. Yes, they should be paying for things like rides to appointments and even for the time someone has to spend sitting with them in a doctor's office.
It's one thing if the elder is poor and can't afford to pay. In that case they can qualify to get some hours of aide service paid for by Medicare who will take them to the doctor and run errands so their adult kids don't have to miss work.
"Medicare Part B may cover medically necessary transportation ordered by a doctor, and Medicare Part A may cover emergency transportation. ... Some Medicare Advantage plans may cover non-emergency transportation, such as trips to your doctor's office or clinic."
We do things for those we love because we love them, not because we're being paid to do it. If money's a real issue, then OK, let someone pay, but otherwise I think it's the responsibility of the child to do some paying back for the care they received growing up.
Neither of my parents ever offer(ed) to pay a penny. I don't need or want their money but, dang, just an offer to show appreciation would be so awesome.
My mom used to drive an older friend to get groceries once a week and the friend insisted on putting fuel, buying lunch and even putting new tires on her truck when she had a problem.
I think it shows how entitled the individual feels or how appreciative they are.