More and more millennials, generally persons born between 1981-1996, are caring for their aging parents according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The National Alliance for Caregiving has estimated that millennials today make up 24 percent of the nations unpaid caregivers. This number has increased from 22 percent in 2009.

The Effect Of Caring For Elderly Parents On Millennials

In a 2018 AARP Public Policy Report we find that about 6.2 million millennials provide care for a parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent. This responsibility comes at a time that can threaten to derail expected milestones in their lives, such as starting families and buying a house, says University of Southern California Professor Maria Aranda. Making decisions about another person’s life as well as their own and even spending a part of their own income on care can be a serious burden.

Moreover, about one in three millennials who are caring for someone with dementia have cut back hours at work, lost benefits, or even been fired because of caregiving demands, according to a 2017 report by UsAgainstAlzheimer's and the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging.

While providing quality consistent care for our seniors is an important issue in this country and around the world, paying attention to the Caregivers and providing them with support is perhaps equally important in order to achieve our goals. This includes Millennials caring for their aging parents and family members.