Being in the Sandwich Generation, Which Many Are, Takes Its Toll
Those in the sandwich generation are caught in the middle of their children and aging parents
CITE: Abcnews.go.com
The “sandwich generation” is a group of people that are primarily women and in the 45-to 56-year-old range. These women are taking care of elderly parents while still taking care of their own children. According to the National Longitudinal Survey by the Department of Labor, these women spend a good bit of time caring for their parents and also spend a lot of money on their children, some of whom are still living at home.
In fact, there are 20 million American women in the sandwich generation. They are in charge of intra-family monetary transactions of $18 billion annually and provide 2.4 billion hours helping their parents and children.
Many of these women had their children later in life, unlike their own mothers who had their children at a younger age, which puts them in the middle, or the center of the sandwich, of three generations, two of which are still dependent on them to some extent.
Women in the 45- to 55-year-old age group have at least one child living at home who is under the age of 21 and at least one living parent, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) which amounts to 44 percent of the sandwich generation.
There are more elderly people today because people are living longer and much of their care is done by their children, who are Baby Boomers. Many of these Baby Boomers are still in the workforce as well as still raising children.
Some of those in the sandwich generation are only children, which means they don’t have any help when it comes to taking care of aging parents.
“Sandwichers” spend approximately $10,000 a year helping their children and parents as well as on average 1,350 hours a year assisting their children and parents.
The responsibility and demands of taking care of elderly parents and children at the same time takes it toll on members of the sandwich generation, who aren’t necessarily prepared to take on this role, which is emotionally draining and expensive. It can also take its toll on one’s health.
When a person is caring for elderly parents and begins to resent the demands placed on them this makes them feel guilty and they slip into depression.
One in five Americans who will be older than 65 by the year 2020 will be in this same situation.The National Association of Social Workers advises those in this situation to get help. You cannot do it all by yourself.
_________________________________________
MY TAKE:
Do not be a martyr. Get some assistance. If you make yourself sick as a result of your stressful life, you are not going to be any help to your aging parents or to you own children. There are home health care providers as well as hospice workers and other service providers that can assist you in caring for your elderly parents. Call your local hospital or your parents’ primary care provider to get information on in-home caretakers.
_________________________________________________
Other Resources