Research shows that the ties which lead
adult children to become caregivers — depending on how much contact they have
with parents, how nearby they live, how obligated they feel — are weaker in
stepchildren, Dr. Silverstein said. Money sometimes enters the equation too,
Ms. Keller added, if biological children resent a parent’s spending their
presumed inheritance on care for an ailing stepparent.
Today’s “modern family” can make
good material for divorce courts and sitcoms alike, but it’s also becoming
clear that there is a new family crisis brewing in elder care within these blended
families. A New Old Age Blog article titled
“In Blended Families,
Responsibility Blurs” addresses this blended family
challenge.
When it’s just parents and just
the kids born from those parents, caring for elderly parents can be difficult
enough. Generally, most families assume that the adult children can work things
out to take care of their elderly parents. In a blended family, however, and
especially in one where the parents of those adult children have remarried late
in life, the boundaries can get blurry. Moral decisions once clear become
blurry.
With elderly parents in such
situations, there oftentimes are changes in relationships for the worse that
can lead to petty angers which further add to complications. Remember, every
family requires ongoing communication and shared understandings to make a
family run smoothly. Easier said than done. Nevertheless, you owe it to
yourself and to your loved ones to come to that point.
Here is an important takeaway:
the coming generations of elderly persons are more likely to be in a blended
family, so be prepared now for the challenges that may affect you and those you
love.
Reference: The New York
Times – The New Old Age Blog (February 5, 2013) “In Blended Families, Responsibility Blurs”