Partly paralyzed, with diabetes and colitis, Linda Lent needs extensive care at home.<\/p>\n
But with her husband working long hours at a bowling alley, Ms. Lent, 47, relies on a caregiver who travels by school bus toting a homework-filled backpack: her 13-year-old daughter, Annmarie.<\/p>\n
Annmarie injects migraine medicine, dispenses pills, takes blood from her mother\u2019s finger for tests and responds to seizures \u201d\u201d responsibilities she has at times found overwhelming.<\/p>\n
At 11, she said, she felt \u201cfed up,\u201d\u009d thinking: \u201cThere\u2019s no law says I have to take care of her. Why should I have to do it? Other kids, they could go out and play with friends.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Across the country, children are providing care for sick parents or grandparents \u201d\u201d lifting frail bodies off beds or toilets, managing medication, washing, feeding, dressing, talking with doctors. Schools, social service agencies and health providers are often unaware of those responsibilities because families members may be too embarrassed, or stoic.<\/p>\n