MODERN FAMILIES
More than half of Canadians are caring for children at home at the same time as their own parents start to ail. It’s exhausting, and the risk of burnout is real. Here’s how to cope. BY TRALEE PEARCE
squeeze
ou need an hour to finish that work report. You desperately need to do a grocery shop. It’s your turn to do the day-care pickup. Oh, and your mom really needs your help getting to a doctor’s appointment. Even the most organized member of the so-called sandwich generation can feel as though she’s coming up short in just about every race she’s running. A recent national survey found that 55 percent of Canadians aged 45 to 64 are juggling the care of children at home along with the increased demands of aging or ailing
parents. And experts say that, despite the pressures, caregivers soldier on, putting their own health in danger. (Family caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients, for instance, suffer high rates of depression and significantly reduced immune function.) Are you feeling the squeeze? Here are a few fresh approaches. CANADIANLIVING.COM | APRIL 2015
PHOTOGRAPHY, LAWREN/GETTY IMAGES
THE FAMILY
