Reverse Parenting is a website designed to provide information to adults providing supportive care to their parents, usually in a home setting. The intent is not to replace, but to augment and reinforce the guidance given by physicians.
As the geriatric population grows, so will the financial and social demands on the American healthcare system. Social Security and Medicare is facing financial peril. Longterm Care facilities are not funded by Medicare and are financially out of reach for many Americans.
Dementia is increasing as lifespans increase, resulting in even more demands on caregivers. As a result of these converging events, there will be an increasing need for aging americans to be cared for in their homes by their adult children.
But mainstream American culture has not prepared most adults to care for their parents. While multi generational homes were once the norm, the post WWII housing boom and push toward the suburbs encouraged marred couples to move away from their parents and pursue their own lives. Mom and dad moving in with their kids became fodder for tv comedies.
Today, American adults are wholly unprepared to simultaneously manage their careers, their children, and their parents lives. Even if mom and dad are cooperative and somewhat self sufficient, keeping the medical appointments, medications, and finances is stressful and confusing. There is no textbook that explains how to do it. Further, these adults feel isolated and unsupported.
Most physicians, frankly, have no expertise in elder care, and can offer little ink the way of advice. This website, then can serve as a resource to physicians who want to direct parent caregivers to an information source.
Peter N Fish, MD