Kids as
caregivers
AACY is there
to help the
helpers
BY CRISTY HOM
J
Keith assisting
his mother
(who is a grandmother
raising
grandkids)
onathan’s grandmother has
cared for him as long as he can
remember, but now at age 15,
he is caring for her. Lisa runs
straight home from school to
help her grandfather so her
mother can go to work. With
the increasing number of multigenerational
households and
grandparents raising grandchildren,
more youth are assuming
the role of caregiver when
the health of their older family
members declines.
An estimated 1.4 million
children of ages 8-18 in the
U.S. are caring for disabled,
ill or aging family members.
They administer medications,
help with feeding, provide personal
care in the bathroom and
32 GRAND MAY JUNE 2011
Kadniel and his grandmother (AACY
obtained an oxygen concentrator for her)
manage household chores.
These kids experience the
same challenges as adult
caregivers, yet they are not
equipped to manage the
resulting sadness and anxiety.
It affects their social and
academic lives. The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation study
“The Silent Epidemic” reported
that among students who drop
out of school for personal reasons,
22 percent do so to care
for a family member.
“My friends can’t relate to
what I am going through,”
states an 11th grader who is
caring for her grandmother. “I
feel so overwhelmed.”
Share this article with your friends.
http://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/thesilentepidemic3-06.pdf
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - May/June 2011