Mark Dolliver's Takes: The Caring Kind

The phrase “caring for one’s aging parents” evokes an image of stressful responsibility—which, in more than a few cases, is entirely the case. But a USA Today/ABC News poll finds that caregiving isn’t as widely burdensome as the conventional wisdom suggests. Polling baby boomers who have a living parent or parent-in-law, it found 37 percent of them providing “ongoing personal-care assistance” to the old folks. Eleven percent give “ongoing financial assistance.” (There’s some overlap, as 7 percent provide both kinds of aid.)