Caregivers, Children as

In the Global North and Global South, children and adolescents commonly take on more or less extensive care tasks and responsibilities with regard to parents, siblings, and grandparents. The degree of involvement is determined by the circumstances, by the unavailability of relatives, or by the temporary or permanent incapacity of the latter to handle such tasks. The commitment may be occasional, when the mother is engaged in other priority activities (commercial activity, agricultural work, or social obligations). Children also intervene on an ongoing basis when one or both parents, the mother in particular, suffer from health problems (physical, mental), including HIV/AIDS, diabetes, or addiction. Through their daily support, they express their attachment, as well as putting themselves in a position to react immediately in the ...