Gaps are far less damaging than the anxious over-explaining they usually attract.
The one-line format
"2024-2025: career break for family caregiving. Kept current with two certifications in X." That is the whole thing. Dates, reason, forward motion.
In the interview
Say it once, calmly, in the same words. Then stop talking and let them move on. Interviewers read length of explanation as level of concern; a short answer signals it is genuinely settled.
What not to do
Do not hide it by stretching dates on either side. Reference checks surface it, and a discovered inconsistency is far worse than the gap. Do not invent freelance work that did not happen.
Common questions
Do employers care about career gaps?
Far less than they did. What matters is that you can describe it briefly and without evasion.
Should I put the gap on my CV?
Yes, as a dated line. An unexplained hole invites worse assumptions than the real reason.