Parents Sued Their Only Son For Depriving Them Of A Grandchild
StockImageFactory.com | ShutterstockMost parents look forward to eventually becoming grandparents, but for one set of parents from India, they decided to take legal action after their only child decided not to have kids of his own.
Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad and Sadhana Prasad took their son and daughter-in-law to court after years had gone by without the couple having a child. While experts hypothesize that the case will likely go nowhere, it's already opened up a conversation about the pressure many adult children face from their parents about settling down, having kids, and becoming parents themselves.
Parents sued their only son for depriving them of a grandchild.
According to the New York Times, the Prasads were demanding that their son and daughter-in-law produce a grandchild within a year or pay $650,000 in damages. They explained that in addition to spending their savings on their son’s $65,000 pilot training program and his expenses in the United States, they supported him for another two years and paid for his Audi, his 2016 hotel wedding, and his honeymoon in Thailand.
"Even after two years, they never thought of having children, and we left the decision to them," Sanjeev Prasad, 61, a retired government official, said to the news outlet. However, the couple became increasingly upset and ashamed when they saw older people drop off grandchildren at a bus stop, their lawyer said.
The court filing accused their son and his wife, who live in the southern city of Hyderabad, of neglecting their "duty to give the pleasure of having either a grandson or a granddaughter." In the Hindu faith in particular, having grandchildren is also seen as necessary to carry forward a family’s lineage and help one’s parents achieve enlightenment.
While the lawsuit itself is shocking, the deep-rooted expectations around family are something many adult children can relate to. We're also living in a time where many adults are choosing the childfree life, especially here in America.
Americans are having fewer kids and enjoying that decision.
The U.S. fertility rate fell to a record low of around 1.6 births per woman in 2023, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In a February 2024 Pew Research Center poll, 30% of 18- to 34-year-olds without kids aren’t sure if they want children, and 18% say they don’t want any.
When asked the reason for being against having kids, money was not the main reason, though childfree adults acknowledged that childcare is definitely out of their budget. The actual main reason was that many Americans know they have more options now and can pursue happiness in other ways that don't include having children and starting a family.
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People are realizing that they can build really fulfilling and meaningful lives by prioritizing their careers, traveling with friends, enjoying the freedom that comes with not having to raise a human being, and focusing on their personal growth.
It feels empowering now to not go down the traditional route, something that older adults from various cultures find hard to understand. While that reality can be uncomfortable for parents who envisioned one day being able to become a grandparent, it's better to respect your adult children's decision; otherwise, it will end up doing more harm than good.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
