By Bridget Campos, 11/09/2015
In honor of November being National Caregivers month, AARP and care giving advisor, Amy Goyer, have teamed up to bring awareness on a growing number of Americans (nearly 40 million) are taking on the responsibility of care giving to an adult friend or relative. But what’s even more astounding in thereport issued by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving is that quite a few of these caregivers are young adults.
Though caregivers do vary in age and gender, the average caregiver is typically an older woman around her 40’s or 50’s that takes care of her elderly parents, usually on the off days from her regular employment, but that has recently changed. Now over 40% of men are caregivers and, in the past few years, Millennials (between the ages of 18 to 34) are playing a substantial role in caregiving. According to an online survey conducted by Easter Seals and Metlife found that one-third of Millennials are caregivers on a daily basis. That means the younger generation has to balance school and work, while also making time to care for a disabled relative.
In her new book, Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving, author Amy Goyer, gives sound advice from her own personal experience of caring for her grandparents, parents, and sister, and how she successfully faced the challenges of such a demanding, yet rewarding, position. In a recent interview with Amy, she gives practical tips on ways men and women can deal with the everyday stresses of looking after an ailing person; including how computer technology (such as phone apps) is helping the 21st century caregiver.
For more information on entering in AARP’s Random Acts of Kindness Contest go to: https://caregiverkindness.aarp.org/and show your appreciation for a relative or friend that’s a caregiver
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