The Blog
When Your Parents Won’t Listen
We asked daughterhood readers recently about the most stressful part of caregiving. Many responded that their biggest struggle is conflict with their parents. When their mother or father disagrees with or ignores safety or health-related directions. Things like not...
5 Lessons in Setting Boundaries that Every Caregiver Must Learn
It seems like I’ve been exhausted for 20 years. In just the last few months I’ve been waking up to the realization that this fatigue is the direct result of much-too-loose personal and professional boundaries. I’ve spent so much time and energy in my life doing things...
4 Tips To Make You Smarter About Your Parents’ Medicare
“My dad doesn’t have Medicare!” A friend said to me on the phone a few months ago. “What?” I responded. Thinking: This seems unlikely. Pretty much everyone over age 65 has some form of Medicare and my friend’s dad is at least 90 years old. Then he explained, “Dad has...
Don’t be Surprised by Medicare’s Out-of-Pocket Costs
My friend Quentin Fottrell is the Moneyologist columnist over at MarketWatch. He recently shared with his facebook group a reader question about whether a woman should help her 75-year-old sister with medical-related credit card debt. Two commenters asked, “Why does...
5 Common Misconceptions About Medicaid
I have a confession. I’ve been avoiding writing about Medicaid. It’s just so complicated it scares even me the expert. But Medicaid can be really important to daughterhood. Someday you might have to decide if it’s right for your parent. So, you have to get smart...
Throwing In The Towel: The 6 Most Important Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Caregiving
I don’t know anyone who feels like they can just up and quit taking care of a loved one who needs it. The very nature of this role is that it’s not something you choose. That doesn’t mean that we don’t often, or even always, wish we could get off the caregiving train....
Caregiver’s Holiday Survival Guide
Let’s face it. Caregivers don’t get to participate much in the holidays. While everyone else is planning trips and parties, shopping for gifts or decorating the house, caregivers are still muscling through their daily grind. If you’re taking care of a parent or loved...
5 Dos and Don’ts for Staying Independent in Old Age
My inbox is filled with emails from caregivers trying to figure out how to pay for their parents’ care. They’re facing complicated and hard choices. The big choices? Whether they should quit their job, move a parent into their home to avoid expensive care, or pay for...