Often adult children are called upon to assist with caring for their aging parent in addition to the typical competing demands of family and financial pressures. This can require financial expense and time resources. Many issues can complicate the adult child’s ability and willingness to provide care:

• The adult child may have competing demands for his or her own children. This especially comes into play when there are young children at home
• Families coping with their own financial pressures may not be in a position to assist a parent financially
• Geographic distance making it more difficult for the adult child to be present on a regular basis
• Unresolved family issues. Many families have baggage that resurfaces when the need for caregiving arises.
  • Enmeshed family where one child may remain dependent on parents
  • Resented parent as a step parent or emotionally distant or abusive parent
  • Absent parent
  • The last parent
• Guilt
  • Adult children often struggle with feelings of guilt as they determine to limit their role as caregiver when the parent needs the supervised care and the family resources cannot manage the care at home. Residential care placement can stimulate a lot of guilt in some families where the tradition of caregiving in the family was strictly home care.