Children in an ageing society

Western society is changing not only in its age distribution but in many other ways. Separating out the importance of each factor is all but impossible. The demographic patterns prevalent in the Western world must be unique in human history, so we have few data on which to base any firm predictions about children in an ageing society. The phenomena producing the change in demographic pattern may be more important for children and services than the age distribution itself Increased life span is not the only reason for the changing distribution; fewer children are born, fewer die, and parents are older when they have their children. In this article I will consider three implications for children and paediatric practice: the social class differences in child bearing patterns; the particular issues related to disability; and the distribution of resources between the age groups.