The Daughters of Elder Care

We have all heard the old African saying "It takes a whole village to raise a child." It expresses some things that we can all easily accept: family values, shared responsibility, community spirit. But where is that same spirit when it comes to caring for our elderly? Typically, all the responsibility falls on one adult child, normally the daughter. The adult daughter cares for children, spouse and an older adult relative while maintaining a career. What about caring for the needs of the caregiver? Her needs are often ignored and trivialized by community, physicians, employers, other family and society in general. Family caregivers faced with a landscape much different from the one commonly accepted and assumed by society suffer guilt and exhaustion while attempting to