Thoughtful Thursday: Caregiving for Aging Parents

Across the country 42 million people, primarily women, between the ages 40 – 60 are faced with the challenge of providing care to their older loved ones each and every day. They may not know it, but they are caregivers, and they play an extraordinary role in supporting those we love.

Growing up our parents provide so much. They fill us with love and joy. They are nurturing, take care of our health and well being and they are our caregivers.

As they get older, a time may come that the roles need to reverse. When children become the caregivers, provide the nurturing and take care of the medical needs of their parents. When this happens, who takes care of the adult children? Who provides support for them? Well, AARP is now providing caregivers with a place to find support.

New research from AARP suggests that caregiving can take a tremendous toll on a caregiver’s personal health and general wellbeing. And yet, many caregivers do not self-identify as such and can be reluctant to ask for help.

AARP is trying to get the word out about resources for caregivers. By visiting aarp.org/caregiving you will be able to find:

Connect with an Expert
Support
Care for the Caregiver
Resources
Caregiving Issues
Latest Caregiving news

This Father’s Day, AARP is raising awareness about The Thanks Project, an online platform that enables caregivers to publically recognize the parents whom they care for. Each individual ‘thanks’ will be integrated into the interactive tapestry, representing the 42 million caregivers in the US. Caregivers everywhere deserve to be recognized for the important work that they do, and Mother’s/Father’s Day remind us why it’s worth it.