Testing the limits

HOW many times have we heard our parents and grandparents say of their final years: "I don't want to be a burden."

HOW many times have we heard our parents and grandparents say of their final years: "I don't want to be a burden."

Yet, when sickness calls or old age creeps up, we lean on our families for help and support. It's the natural thing to do, and many would never complain about caring for their parents.

But scratch the surface, as Kate Legge did for our cover story, and it's not hard to find feelings of resentment as baby boomers, freed from their child-rearing years, are thrust back into the caring game.

Or Gen Xers trying to juggle the care of their parents and their children.

Throw in the ageing population, sibling dynamics and deficiencies in the aged care system, and you can see what a difficult, and pressing, topic this is.