According to what I have learned, being a sandwich generationer can be very challenging for Americans and their families. Sandwich generationers act as caregivers for elderly relatives and children. Sandwich generationers deal with parents who are unable to work and needing to support their families financially.
The Elderly become more able to do things on their own, such as bathing or eating. As they age, they may need help with tasks like toileting and eating. Sandwich Generationers help their parents with these chores, but sometimes it becomes too much. 68% provide financial support for family caregivers, 41% adjust their work hours and 13% leave their jobs to take care of the family’s needs (Eisenberg). The longer life expectancy of grandparents and parents is followed by more intensive care (Eisenberg). 31.2 % of college-educated adults live at home after completing college. Younger generations are finding it harder to get work because they don’t have the necessary experience or higher education. Students should consider moving back to their parents as a way to save money and to have the ability to rebuild emergency funds. The Sandwich generation, also known as their parents, will be responsible for paying phone bills, utility bills, and food supply. Many adult children still depend on their parents for financial support.
This does not include children under 18 years old and parents over 35 years of age. Elizabeth Gregory wrote in “Families As They Are” that only 1 in 7 children will come from women over 35 (Risman & Rutter). This can be even worse for your pockets if you are a sandwich generationer and are already a caregiver for a parent. It is expensive to have a parent pay for proper nutrition and formula if they aren’t eligible for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This is especially true for those who don’t choose to breastfeed or can’t apply for government foods resources. School-age children may need assistance with homework, after-school activities, or other extracurricular activities. Shoes, clothing, and school supplies are all important. School age children also need time, attention, and clothing.
Sandwich generation members feel they have some expectation. In future sandwich generations, the cost of elderly and young care will increase. It is expensive to do a lot of things, such as travel, entertainment, media, financial finances, and transportation. Families will be thrown apart by these finances. You can’t make it work by cutting back on one side and putting it in the other.
Eisenberg: 62 % of caregivers felt they had to choose between providing support and spending time with family. 57 % said they had the same dilemma. Maintaining close friendships with fellow sandwich generationers and intimacies is a difficult task. They are often second-hand to their parents and children. They might feel threatened by someone forming new friendships with the outsiders who care for them. Caregivers might be unsure of how much time they have, what to do to ensure that everyone is satisfied, and how to manage guilt.
People who are suffering should have access to financial planning, family leave, child benefits, financial planning aid that is affordable and can be maintained, as well as flexible work schedules that don’t come with any consequences. This allows middle-aged individuals to do their job, complete tasks, or run errands. If it is difficult to call out, the person may be eligible to take paid leave depending on the type of care plan. The employer can take into account the situation and determine how long the employee should be off work. Employers can also offer child-care benefits, which could help relieve some of the financial burden. Employers could offer child care benefits to help sandwiched workers.
People are living longer, taking longer to become parents, and the children who stay at home longer create a pressure cooker. With the increasing age of our population, this is becoming a greater need. The problem is that the federal, state, local and local governments seem to be making it harder for the aging family members to live in better housing and food. Anyone who has to manage the multiple generations of caregiving for elderly parents or children must have a plan. Stick with it. Any plan that is to be followed must be consistent. People who are tucked between their parents and families need to realize that they are still human and have to take care of themselves. These people must be open to accepting these changes in order to make the transition into a new normal easier and less complicated.