Person responsible for meeting the physical and psychological needs of an infant, child, or dependent adult.

A caregiver (alternatively referred to as a caretaker) is the person who has responsibility for meeting the physical and psychological needs of an infant or child. (The term also describes the person responsible for the care of a dependent adult.) The caregiver may be the individual who has legal responsibility for the child—the parent or guardian—or may be someone who is hired to assume temporary, short-term, or routine responsibility for the child in the absence of the parent or guardian. A caregiver may also be a member of the household or extended family, such as a co-parent, siblings, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. The label caregiver is usually applied to a person taking care of a child or adult at home, although it may be applied to employees in a day...