Tiz with grandchildrenThe Washington Post ran an interesting article on June 23, 2009 about a great-grandmother caring for her 7-year old great-granddaughter who is autistic, virtually blind, and is “medically fragile.” Instead of enjoying her golden years, she’s busy changing diapers for this child as well as picking up toys and spilled cereal. When distressed, the child bites, furies, and flails. What a heart-breaking story. You can read the whole story at the Washington Post Web site.

Look at these statistics in the article:

  • Number of children in the care of their grandparents: 2.5 million

  • Number of grandparents raising children: 2.5 million
  • Married grandparents raising children: 70 percent
  • Percent of grandparent caregivers who are raising children 5 to 17 with disabilities: 11.8 percent
  • Grandparents who are caregivers and have their own disabilities: 30 percent
  • Grandparents who are caregivers over age 60 and have disabilities: 40 percent
Source: Census data analysis by National Center on Grandfamilies at the nonprofit Generations UnitedKen Klemm.
If you’re a grandparent like me and not in any of the above categories, how fortunate we are. (Enjoy pictures of my Facebook friends Tiz Wheeler Wemyss in England and Ken Klemm in Pennsylvania who are not “caregivers,” but wonderful, loving “care givers”).
Can you imagine being over 60 and not in the best of health being a primary caregiver? 40 percent fall in that category. How difficult it must be. My heart goes out to those brave individuals. Any of us could become a caregiver in an instant. Are you ready? Check out the post by Nancy Fiedelman here.
As difficult as it is, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to take care of your health. Experts tell us it’s important to exercise, eat healthfully, and take good nutritional supplements. If you’re under tremendous stress as a caregiver, check out this drink which has helped many people.

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Filed under: Grandparents • Retirement • Senior Health • Seniors

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