The Boomer Generation and Aging Parents

The boomer generation is often considered the sandwich generation as they care for their aging parents and children and grandchildren. Caregiving aging parents is challenging as much for the caregiver as for the care recipient.

There is a roller coaster of emotions as we attempt to parent our parents – a role reversal as we try to make decisions regarding legal, financial and medical issues. There are many concerns, the least not being how to keep a parent from driving when the need becomes apparent. In this I was fortunate because my mother was cognitive enough to realize when she was no longer able to drive.

As caregivers to our parents it is important to provide emotional support, keep in regular contact with phone calls and visits, help them stay socially connected, ensure that they have entertainment opportunities, do their grocery shopping if needed, take them to doctor's and other appointments, ensure that there are necessary handrails, no loose rugs and that all safety concerns are looked after. It is important also to be apprised of our parents' medications.

We must be aware of changes in their routine, i.e.: sleeping more than they normally do, skipping meals, not being concerned with hygiene, sudden weight loss or gain, mood swings, problems with memory, depression or anxiety.

We also, in our role as caregivers to our elderly parents, are in a position where it is necessary to deal with problems associated with end of life issues. This is a very difficult time for not only the parent but their child/caregiver. It is a time when both know there isn't much time left and both may realize that some things were left too late. When caring for my mother I found this the most difficult aspect although she had made it somewhat easier by leaving a Living Will which took the onus off me for making those most difficult of decisions. There were things I wished I had talked about and as she stared at me near the end I knew there were things she would have liked to have said as well.

As the sandwich generation, we are forced to think about our own aging as we look after our parents and how we will manage with our own care as we age. Will we be able to retain our own independence? Will we be able to retain our mobility for a longer period of time? Will we be able to stave off cognitive problems that will cause us to be more dependent on others?

We become very aware as we care for our elderly parents how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle and to make efforts to ensure that we remain cognitively alert by doing all in our power to keep our brains active. Many age-related diseases can be slowed or prevented with a good diet and regular exercise. But I believe keeping our brains active is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Another is continuing to have an 'I can', 'I will' attitude that the boomer generation has always had.