Author: Anne Bogardus, Founder (and former caregiver}
There are so many different issues to consider when your aging parent starts to transition from self-sufficient to needing help. There are so many different kinds of help that can be needed, some of which are best provided by family, and others which may require professional assistance. It’s possible for one adult child to “do it all,” but it helps to know the “big picture” before getting started.
Richard Laliberte, writing for Woman’s Day about his family’s experience, has put together a nice overview of different options, information you need to have before committing to caregiving, and questions to ask yourself about whether you are realistically able to take on this role for an aging parent. He provides some sobering statistics as well:
“The number of adults helping a parent personally or financially has tripled in the past 15 years, according to a recent study by MetLife, the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and New York Medical College. Most caregivers (66%) are women in their late 40s caring for a mother or other female relative, but some 14% help another adult age 49 or younger. All told, an estimated 36 million U.S. households have at least one person who’s a caregiver, and 3 in 10 of them have been doing it for more than five years.”
Read the full article here if you have questions about getting started on your caregiving journey.