Week 14 Post 2

While reading chapter 22, I found the section called "Caregiving" to be very interesting. Caregiving includes not only meeting another person's physical needs but also fulfilling another person's psychological needs. One study concludes that the time and energy required to provide emotional support to others must be reconceptualized as an important aspect of the work that takes in families. Caregiving must be managed, focused, and directed so as to have the intended effect on the care recipient. Caregiving includes responding to the emotions of people who need a confidant, cheerleader, counselor, and close friend. Parents, children, and partners care for one another and oftentimes, neighbors, friends, and distant relatives are caregivers as well. Most families have a kinkeeper which is a caregiver who takes responsibility for maintaining communication among family members. The kinkeeper has lots of responsibilities such as gathering everyone for holidays, spreading word about illness, relocation, or accomplishments, buying gifts for special occasions, and reminding family members of birthdays and anniversaries. All the family members become generative as they are guided by their kinkeeper. The best caregiving is shared work and shared caregiving is generativity. Generativity can take many forms but its chief form is establishing and guiding the next generation, usually through parenthood. Many adults pass along their values as they decide how to respond to the hundreds of requests and unspoken needs of their children each day.