A New Generation of Caregivers: Grandchildren Taking Care of Grandparents
A new generation of young people is stepping up to help their aging and ill family members. Although the Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 report found that the average age of family caregivers (49.2 years old) remains essentially unchanged since the last report in 2015, the data also reveal that 24 percent of informal caregivers are between the ages of 18 and 34. Millennials and members of Generation Z are aging into the caregiving role. While most caregivers ages 18 to 49 are caring for a parent or in-law, 17 percent report taking care of grandparents or grandparents-in-law.
Why Are More Grandchildren Caring for Grandparents?
Family and household composition have changed a great deal over recent decades. Many of these young caregivers have lived with or been raised by their grandparents. For example, a 2021 report published by Generations United found that more than one in four Americans (26 percent) are living in a household with 3 or more generations. In other instances, a grandchild becomes the primary caregiver because he or she lives nearer to the elder than other family members. Sometimes, it’s simply because a particular grandchild feels close to the grandparent and has the so-called “caregiver personality.”
There are countless factors that influence why a grandchild might become the primary caregiver for one or both grandparents, but the underlying reason for this is usually that the elder’s own adult children are not willing, able or alive to assume this role.
Younger Caregivers Face Significant Challenges
Few people with first-hand experience caring for an elder would describe it as an easy job. But, consider the fact that most family caregivers are age 50 or older. They were probably able to enjoy their teenage and early adult years, eventually joining the workforce, learning to fend for themselves, getting married and raising children. What I’m trying to convey is that the average family caregiver has a few decades’ worth of knowledge, adult living, and real-world experience under their belt.
Undoubtedly, many younger caregivers are mature for their age, but they are also still relatively green across the board. Most aren’t intimately familiar with the various indignities…
Continue reading on Agingcare for more on the generation that has more people caring for grandparents than in the past:
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Check out Dr. Leslie Kernisan’s free training webinar How to Help Resistant Aging Parents and consider joining this amazingly supportive group! Better Health While Aging presents Helping Our Older Parents:
Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. “I hold onto your book as a life preserver and am reading it slowly on purpose…I don’t want it to end.” …Craig William Dayton, Film Composer
