Has "caregiver" been used correctly?

[alpacinou]

Hello.

This sentence was written by a friend of mine who is a non-native speaker. I want to know if the underlined word has been used correctly. I am not looking for alternatives or other ways. I just need to know if it's correct.

I believe the burden of teaching children moral values falls on parents. Schools cannot have as much influence on a child as their caregivers.

In fact, caregiver has been used as a substitute for parents.

I thought caregiver is a temporary situation. That is why I'm asking.

 

[Yankee]

In that context I would not consider parents as caregivers.

 

[alpacinou]

In that context I would not consider parents as caregivers.

Is that because caregiver is a temporary role?

 

[Tarheel]

Hello.

This sentence was written by a friend of mine who is a non-native speaker. I want to know if the underlined word has been used correctly. I am not looking for alternatives or other ways. I just need to know if it's correct.

I believe the burden of teaching children moral values falls on parents. Schools cannot have as much influence on a child as their caregivers.

In fact, caregiver has been used as a substitute for parents.

I think of being a caregiver as a temporary situation. That is why I'm asking.

Two things. One, if parents are not caregivers then what are they? Two, if parents are caregivers then it is not a temporary situation. (It is not a permanent situation either.)

 

[PeterCW]

In the example, "caregiver" is used stylistically to avoid the repetition of "parent" in successive sentences. A native speaker would simply interpret it as a synonym for "parent".

In other contexts "caregiver" can encompass both temporary and permanent care.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think caregiver is used to avoid repetition in contexts like this but rather as an umbrella term to include those other than parents.