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Elderly Made Sick by Babysitting Duties

A growing number of elderly people are being tasked with babysitting their grandchildren as the parents go out to work. This has led to increasing back and joint problems among senior citizens as they have to lift their grandchildren several times a day.

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According to Statistics Korea, the contribution by married women to family income rose from 3.4 percent in 1982 to 12.7 percent in 2008, or around four-fold.

That has also led to more married couples turning to their parents to care for their children. Data from job search portal Incruit last year showed 32.7 percent of working women with children turned to their parents or in-laws to care for them.

The elderly often pay for their kindness with ailments. Ahn In-soon at a pain clinic said, "Many elderly patients put off seeing a doctor for pains in their back, arms, legs or shoulders while caring for their grandchildren, because they don't want to alarm their children. But if the pain persists, a doctor should look at the problem".

Lee Eun-joo at Asan Medical Center in Seoul said, "A lot of senior citizens develop health problems while caring for their grandchildren. Some even complain about depression because they constantly have to deal with grandchildren who are too young to talk".

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