Reverse Caregiving?

As the second anniversary of the Great Recession comes & goes, one thing we don’t hear much about is the resultant change of the family structure. Intergenerational households have become an economic reality due to job losses and home foreclosures of recent years. But even more so by demographic changes, as reported by Pew Research Center. Households where two or more adult generations existed declined post-WW II until the late 1970s, but have steadily increased since. In 2008, 1-in-5 adults age 55 to 85+ lived in a multi-generational household. Of the 49 million Americans living in a multi-generational family household, 6% are in a "skipped" generation family unit made up of a grandparent and grandchild, but no parent.

In a separate report, Pew describes a sharp increase of children raised solely by grandparents since the recession began. One of every 10 U.S. kid lives with a grandparent with 41% of those being raised primarily by that grandparent.

Where’s a caregiving grandparent to turn for help? Mari Bell of GrandsPlace.org advocates the need for caregiving grands to make time for themselves. “In each parenting grands’ life there is so much to do that we can often lose sight of our own needs too.” Resources can be found but are few and far between. ROCK (Raising Our Children’s Kids), serving 12 northern Minnesota counties, is a program offering crisis assistance, referral, and counseling. New York City’s extensive Grandparent Resource Center provides information and referral, recreational activities, educational workshops, and advocacy for people raising their grandchildren. While we can’t wait for, nor expect, more programs to appear, one thing is for sure: a little self-care can go a long way. As Bell states “if we fail to care for ourselves and wind up burning out, then we will be of no good to anyone.” ~Helen Rickman