Parenting Parents

Beginning April 17, NPR will broadcast a series following the lives of three different families, providing intimate insight into the complexities and challenges of being a caregiver to two generations.

She couldn't leave her bed at all during the final months, but the city came to her, one person at a time, to say goodbye in the room where they'd said so many hellos.

Where have they gone? And what does it mean for my kids that, apart from their grandparents, they just don't know any old people?

At first it was easy enough to escort her mother to doctor's appointments, make sure her fridge was stocked and help her buy clothes. But as Nansea Cl...

For Thanksgiving this year, I went home to Connecticut to be with my family. The main theme for this week-long trip went way beyond the one day of festivities. I was primarily there to assist my ailing elder parents.

I spend much of my life filled with regret that I don't see the people I love as much as I'd like, and that when I'm with them I don't pay as close attention as I should. A visit with a dear friend last weekend broke that pattern.

If you've ever raised a teen driver, you're probably aware of those informal contracts often recommended for children and their parents that detail fa...

By and large I hate aging. The wrinkles under the eyes, the graying hair, the increasingly saggy skin, the ache in the foot that I know will never really get better. Everyone knows the drill.

This is the great challenge of the generation -- not just planning for our retirements, but caring for our parents who will live well into our retirements, and supporting each other as we all embark on our unique caregiving journeys.

We live in an ageist society, where old and infirm family members are often invited out of obligation, not genuine desire.

Your parents have always been the adults. They raised you. They dealt with illnesses, job losses and money issues. They did it all. Now you've become their caregiver.