Many people wrongly believe that when
people reach old age, their families place them in nursing homes. They are left
in the hands of strangers for the rest of their lives. Their{{U}} (31)
{{/U}}children visit them only occasionally, but more often, they do not
have any{{U}} (32) {{/U}}visitors. The truth is that this idea is an
unfortunate myth imaginary story. In fact, family members provide over 80
percent of the care{{U}} (33) {{/U}}elderly people need. Samuel Preston,
a sociologist, studied{{U}} (34) {{/U}}the American family is changing.
He reported that by the time the{{U}} (35) {{/U}}American couple reaches
40 years of age, they have more parents than children. {{U}}(36)
{{/U}}because people today live longer after an illness than people did
years ago, family members must provide long term care. More psychologists have
found that all caregivers share a common characteristic: All caregivers believe
that they are the best people for the job. In other words, they all felt that
they{{U}} (37) {{/U}}do the job better than anyone else. Social workers
interviewed caregivers to find out why they took on the responsibility of caring
for an elderly relative. Many caregivers believed they had{{U}} (38)
{{/U}}to help their relative. Some stated that helping others would{{U}}
(39) {{/U}}them feel more useful. Others hoped that by helping{{U}}
(40) {{/U}}now, they would deserve care when they became old and
dependent. Caring for the elderly and being taken care of can be a mutually
satisfying experience for everyone who might be
involved.