Caregiving in the News

According to this very personal article from Michelle Singletary at the Washington Post, "by 2020, 12 million older Americans will need long-term care. And when they need that care, they will realize that they and the caregivers they will have to lean on are woefully unprepared for the cost."
We already know caregiving is an increasingly widespread extra job for Americans, with the Caregiving in the U.S. 2009 study revealing that 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers. In the Post article, Singletary joins those ranks and shares her story about caring for her 81-year-old father-in-law whose basic living needs have just become too hard for him to handle alone.
If you are a caregiver yourself, you should check out her story and check it out often, because she will be sharing her family's trials and tribulations, and offering her advice along the way. For now, she suggests the biggest thing you can do is start preparing, even if you have a slight inkling you may become the caregiver for an aging parent or relative - emotionally, financially and otherwise.
Share your stories and advice here, too - we know there are a lot of you caregivers out there, and we always want to hear from you.