It’s rarely possible to pick out a caregiver in a crowd. Why? Because we, who care for loved ones, don’t think we’re fulfilling a role! It’s just part of who we are as daughters, sons, sisters, moms or dads! And it’s what we do. We care for the ones we love.
If you’re a person who provides needed help to an aging or infirmed loved one, supplying emotional support, physical assistance, financial assistance, and many other types of care, regardless of the situation, you’re a caregiver.
Family caregivers are the immediate family, relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption, partners, or close friends who directly provide care, manage the care of, or pay for the care of people who need medical and non-medical assistance, emotional support, and advocacy because they are ill, disabled, or aged and frail.
Caregivers dedicate, on average, 20 hours per week to provide care for older persons and even more time when the older person has multiple disabilities.
Forty-one percent of caregivers have children, too. Part of the "sandwich generation," many women will spend more years caring for a parent than they do raising a child. Caregivers of the elderly spend an average of $279 per month on care-related activities.
Since we’ve determined ‘who’ caregivers are, in a day or two, check back - we'll look at some things to think about as you begin your caregiving process.
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