Today's older adults are among the first generations to live en masse into late life. Earlier generations had to contend with disease, warfare, childbirth, famine and other hardships, and most people died before reaching later life. However, with improved living conditions, technologies and advances in medicine, older adults are living longer than ever before.

A significant health crisis such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer used to mean a death sentence. Now many people survive the first incident, often for many years—although not completely recovered, and not with the same health and vigor they had before the crisis.

One result of this phenomenon is that the children of these older adults are among the first generations to experience caregiving as a normal part of midlife. Not only that, but these caregivers are providing care for longer periods than every generation prior to theirs, and are caring for parents who are more frail than their earlier counterparts. If you're part of this group, you know: while your parents may have provided care for their aging parents for months, or even a few years, it's not uncommon for the current generation of caregivers to provide care to aging parents for ten years or longer! In fact, many caregivers will care for four parents or more, if they assist their in-laws and step-parents as well as their own parents.

Here's where a support group becomes important. Being among the first wave of long-term family caregivers means that you have few options for advice. Who do you turn to when you don't know how to choose between attending your son's baseball game and visiting your chronically ill mother? Your friends, neighbors and co-workers might not know what factors to consider when you're faced with making heartbreaking decisions about money, time and energy. And most of us certainly weren't raised knowing how to say "no" to our parents.

Caregivers who are facing the same issues as you can provide support in a way nothing else can. By discussing aging issues with a peer group, you become a better, more knowledgeable caregiver. Drawing on the experiences of other participants, you can be prepared and know how to cope with events even before they occur. It's reassuring to know that you are not the only one who resents the burden of caregiving while also fearing the end of it.

Attending a peer support group will also allow you to share your hard-earned knowledge with others who may be floundering. You may be able to guide someone through the process of taking the car keys or moving their parent out of the home they've lived in for the last 70 years. And if you can't do it now, someday you will be able to. It can be one of the most meaningful gifts you'll ever give.