More Men Are Taking Care of Aging Parents. They Feel Unprepared.

odowd

Good WSJ article here: https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/men-caregivers-aging-parents-sons-ba7a6d71?st=2mo7qktf0ucw7yt&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

MP8

Thank you for sharing this. I didn't realize 47% of younger caregivers (18-34 years of age) are men.

dancsfo

@odowd This is an excellent article. I think many people in this forum can relate to the challenges, and also learn new things from the article.

harshedbuzz

It's a great piece; thanks for sharing.

I am not surprised by the level of participation by men in the younger age bracket for a couple of reasons.

Given the sheer cost of housing, many men find themselves living "at home" longer than in previous generations and probably gradually assume a caregiver role just because they are "on site". Higher rates of divorce and smaller family sizes common to boomers means there might be fewer daughters to fill this roll.

I think, too, that this reflects the trend of men being held to higher standards of parenting in this generation as their partners are more likely to be employed continuously outside the home often contributing greater proportion of income/benefits to the family. I see my niece and her friends divide family obligations, whether holiday gift shopping or caregiving by family of origin rather than assuming the wife will take care of most of it.

HB